La Belle
by Herr Wozzeck
Summary: Joint fic with me, BabyGurl278, KILL THE EMPIRE, and RoyalFanatic. The smashers enter a tournament crafted especially for them. Little do they know of the price they must pay if they lose... NOTE: NO LONGER A COLLAB!
1. Publisher's Foreword

Publisher's Foreword

Hello, everybody. This is Herr Wozzeck speaking.

Now, as I said in my summary, this is a collab between me and the staff of "And Then There Where None…" I'm pretty sure you'll be asking yourselves how we can pull something like this off if it's between four different people, and how it's possible to distinguish four different styles.

Okay, first of all, this is organized indeed. We have an order that goes something like this:

BabyGurl278

Herr Wozzeck

KILL THE EMPIRE

RoyalFanatic

In case you still are confused, we all use different methodologies of the A/N; BabyGurl278 has short A/N's, I have a long A/N at the beginning of each chapter and only at the beginning, KILL THE EMPIRE has very short A/N's, and RoyalFanatic bolds her A/N's and has characters from whatever game she's writing in help her out with disclaimers and stuff like that.

Speaking of disclaimers, here is the general disclaimer for this story:

None of the authors own SSB:M or its characters. The scenario, the events, and any characters you don't know belong to us.

In that light, the staff of "And Then There Were None…" presents, "La Belle". Enjoy.


	2. Chapter 1

BabyGurl278 here, with my usual author's note as always!

I am here introducing the first chapter of La Belle that I have written. You already know everything so just start reading already!

Enjoy!

La Belle

Chapter 1

" Ready…Set…"

Sweat steadily dripped down Mewtwo's forehead. His purple eyes were focused upon his competitor standing on the other side of the stage. The short blonde hair elf gripped tightly to his sword. He was slightly jumping, moving his feet to keep his body going. Determination filled his soft cobalt eyes. He donned his green hat, with matching green tunic. His appearance was slightly similar to his older counterpart.

" Go!"

Mewtwo was the first to react quickly to the announcer. He glided across the stage of Termina, over toward the young elf who was running in his direction. Young Link swung his sword in, causing Mewtwo throw in quick punches and kicks, managing to knock Young Link down with purple smoke surrounding him.

Young Link had quickly gotten back into the battle, using his bow and arrow to hit Mewtwo in the chest. Mewtwo fell back to the ground causing pain to erupt in his back. He recovered quickly, and dodged Young Link's sword swung. He kicked Young Link back toward the large turtle.

"_Are you nervous about this fight?" Bowser questioned._

_Mewtwo laughed. "Not at all. I can handle little Young Link."_

Young Link grunted as he landed on the turtle. He rolled back almost slipping off into the water but jumped using the red balloon for support. He jumped back onto the gray ledge and continued to fight Mewtwo charging at him with full strength. Mewtwo managed to grab Young Link and throw him off the stage. Young Link screamed as he landed in to the water.

Mewtwo chuckled, as he glided back and forth waiting for the young elf to reappear. Young Link fell from above and held his sword down landing on top of Mewtwo. Mewtwo grunted as he flew back toward the turtle, landing hard on the shell. Young Link ran over toward Mewtwo just as he recovered from the blow. The turtle lifted its head, and began to sink underwater.

Mewtwo jumped hoping to land on the ledge, but Young Link let out a scream as he jumped and hit Mewtwo with a power strike, knocking Mewtwo back into the water. Young Link landed on the gray ledge, and swiftly took out a bottle of Lon Lon Milk, drinking it on the stage.

"_You have to be careful of those small ones." Bowser stated. "I've fought Mario many times, and I can tell you that they are quite nimble."_

"_You don't need to worry about me, Bowser." Mewtwo replied crossing his arms. I can handle it."_

Mewtwo shook off the water that stuck to him and jumped back down onto the stage. Young Link leaped up to the platform and charged at Mewtwo once more. Mewtwo took a deep breath as he and Young Link exchanged blows and countered each other's attacks.

Determination and rage built up inside of Mewtwo. He couldn't lose against Young Link. He knew it inside, that he wasn't going to let a ten year old beat him. Everyone would believe Mewtwo was just some tough looking Pokemon, when he is really weak and helpless. He couldn't go around carrying that reputation.

Mewtwo felt his lead slip as Young Link began beating him with numerous attacks. Mewtwo managed to lay a couple on the Young Link, but like Bowser had told him before the battle the small ones are nimble. Mewtwo couldn't deny Bowser's words. He now had a reason to be anxious.

Young Link had brought Mewtwo to the edge of the stage and continued to hit him with numerous attacks. Mewtwo dodged most of them, but found himself on the moving ledge below, dangerously close to the water. Mewtwo gathered up strength and used a power attack, knocking Young Link off the ledge.

Young Link landed in the water but spun around quickly using his sword lifting him right out of the water. He hit Mewtwo across the face with the last few spins causing the Pokemon to fall back off the ledge. Mewtwo panicked, trying to get back up but failed and continued to fall deeper under water.

Before had he reached the portal, to bring him back to the top, the announcer's voice was faintly heard.

"Game!"

Mewtwo closed his eyes as he felt himself get sent into the portal. Once he opened them, he found himself standing in the mansions tournament room. He and Young Link were both standing on the portals, back to the real world.

The portals shut off, and Mewtwo glided out to the middle of the room. He looked up at the scores hanging from the ceiling and frowned. His eyes averted to the young elf, who was dancing around rejoicing for his victory. Without any words, Mewtwo glided out of the room.

Bowser greeted Mewtwo in the hallway, who watched the battle from the next room. He laughed, mainly at the Pokemon from losing against Young Link. Bowser patted Mewtwo's back, comforting his friend.

"You laugh at me, and then you try to cheer me up," Mewtwo explained. He stopped and faced Bowser. "What's wrong with you?"

"I told you to be careful," Bowser commented. "But you didn't listen."

"I almost had that little brat too," Mewtwo complained.

He sighed deeply heading further down the hallway. At the end of the long narrow hallway was a window up against the wall. The blinds were open, revealing the rain pounding violently against the window. Thunder was heard booming in the distance, with the occasional flash of lightning lighting up the darkened hallway.

"You will eventually get over it," Bowser stated. "It was only one battle Mewtwo."

Mewtwo nodded and pushed Bowser away from him. "I know."

He continued down the hallway, even after noticing Bowser had stopped. Mewtwo turned and walked passed the stairway leading to the second floor. He passed the library where Pichu, the Ice Climbers and Ness sat talking. He continued across the mansion and stopped in front of the sliding glass door. He looked outside as the rain continuously fell from the sky, and opened the door stepping out of the mansion.

Mewtwo closed his eyes as he felt the heavy rain greet his face. He tried to get his mind away from his battle. He did the best he could during the fight, but obviously it wasn't good enough. Young Link had gotten lucky this time around. Mewtwo knew he wasn't going to lose again.

The door behind Mewtwo suddenly closed, causing the Pokemon to jump startled. He abruptly swung around and grabbed the doorknob trying to open the door. He tugged at it, but the door wouldn't bug. Mewtwo felt his heart race, as he felt an unwanted presence behind him. He took a deep breath and turned around only to be greeted by the end of a weapon that knocked the Pokemon unconsciousness.

Mewtwo groaned as he steadily opened his heavy eyes. He looked around and noticed he was staring up at the dark blackened sky. The rain continuously fell on his face, causing the Pokemon to look away. He tried to move his arms, but found that they were tied to his sides. Thick brown ropes were wrapped around his body and legs, keeping him from getting out of the box that he was lying in.

The mysterious Pokemon raised an eyebrow trying to figure out what he was lying in. Thunder cracked violently across the sky as Mewtwo felt his heart jump with the thunder. By the shape of the box, Mewtwo finally came to dreading conclusion. His life was going to end.

He was lying in a casket.

"Help!" Mewtwo cried. "Help!" His voice was barely heard over the thunder.

A figure soon appeared next to the casket. Mewtwo tried to catch a glimpse of who the culprit was who put him in this early funeral. It was hard for Mewtwo to identify the figure; in fact, with the darkness surrounding them, seeing anything was impossible.

"Let me out of here!"

"Good-bye…Mewtwo…" The figure spoke. "The battle isn't going to be the only thing you lost today."

Mewtwo's eyes widened as he recognized the voice. Once a jagged bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, the figure's identity was clearly seen for a few seconds. Mewtwo gasped, about to speak, but the figure hunched over him taping his mouth.

Mewtwo tried to scream, but his voice was muffed. He listened to the figure's laugh, watching as the casket was closing. Mewtwo felt the darkness taking over as the light was slowly diminishing.

The battle isn't going to be the only thing you lost today…

His life was next…

Mewtwo's screaming had stopped as he felt his muscles relax. The darkness overtook him, as he basically gave up hope.

The casket had closed.

**Author's Note:**

There you go. The first chapter completed!

Let us know what you think!

Until Next Time!


	3. Chapter 2

Hello, everybody. Herr Wozzeck typing this all up.

For those of you that don't seem to know me, I have a tendency to go on and on whenever I get into my writing. In fact, one time I was writing up a fight scene for my Fire Emblem-related epic _Atrorie: Land of Dreams_, and I wasn't able to stop for several minutes. You can see where I did that by checking the A/N's thoughout the novel.

Anyways, we've begun sightreading the opera we're doing in school this year. This year, we are planning on doing _Hansel and Gretel_ by Engelbert Humperdinck. It's probably going to be the best thing we're ever going to do in my time in that school, so I'm an extremely happy camper here.

Oh, by the way, I normally like to end the chapter with the end of the chapter. I don't normally do A/N's at the end of a chapter unless I need to announce a hiatus or the story ended.

Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2

The eyes of the paintings in the halls of the mansion seemed to follow the people that walked in the corridors every day. The red paint was enough to make any grown man feel nervous, and every two tables a floating candelabrum was seen.

Ness wondered why this mansion was the one they had been housed in as he walked. He knew many mansions that could have housed the twenty-six combatants in the newly begun tournament. Heck, even the mansion of the brother of the most famed combatant could have served as a housing place.

Of all the places he was able to pick, the man who organized the tournament picked one that nobody knew of, and the one that was probably the creepiest at that.

It was really quite strange how the events of the past few months had unfolded. A man named Albrecht had volunteered to host a tournament, and the members of the group of twenty-six combatants known as the Super Smash Brothers were very thrilled. However, Albrecht had warned that the 'smashers', as they were so called, would need all the training they could get, as this tournament was to be a legendary chapter in the course of the history of the Super Smash Brothers.

Walking down those halls, Ness was not totally sure how this tournament would be like that. It had looked and felt pretty much like a normal tournament, except for maybe the fact that it was being broadcast on all the major television stations throughout Smash Island and the locales where the technology was advanced enough to be able to show electronic images.

Then again, it was labeled the "SSB Masters", so Ness figured it was something important.

Ness adjusted the visor of his red cap as he walked down the halls. As he did, a large, somewhat burdensome figure walked, or rather stomped, into view. Spikes were seen jutting out of his back.

"Oh, hello Bowser," said Ness.

The creature turned his head to look at Ness.

"Hello," said Bowser. "What's up?"

"Not much," said Ness. "Although, I did miss my telepathic conversation with Mewtwo last night."

"Really?" asked Bowser. "Why would that be?"

"I'm not sure," Ness replied. "All I know is that he didn't seem to want to talk to me last night."

Everybody in the Super Smash Brothers knew that Ness and Mewtwo were both capable of psychic powers. Since these two shared a common trait that very few people had, it was like them to have a telepathic conversation in the middle of the night when everybody else was asleep. Oftentimes, these conversations went on for hours without rest. One time the conversation lasted so long that Ness fell asleep in his food at breakfast the next morning.

"He didn't want to talk?" asked Bowser. "That's strange…"

"I know," said Ness. "All I remember is that he didn't respond to my 'hello'."

"That is very strange indeed," said Bowser.

"Have you seen him anywhere?" asked Ness.

"I'm afraid not," said Bowser. "Nobody's seen him all morning."

"I guess he's busy feeling bad about the match yesterday," said Ness.

"I think that's what it is too," said Bowser. "He really needs to lighten up though. I mean, it's only a match. A match shouldn't be able to mess people up, yes?"

"Yes," said Ness. "Anyways, I'll see you later."

"Same here," said Bowser.

The two went their separate ways.

* * *

Roy sat on a couch in the so-called 'match lounge'. The smashers that were not participating in this fight were sitting there watching the currently just beginning match between Doctor Mario and Bowser that was taking place at Princess Peach's castle.

Roy paid enough attention to notice Dr. Mario running up to Bowser to punch him. Of course, Roy figured that Bowser would just grab Dr. Mario in those large claws of his. Indeed, this is exactly what happened, and once Bowser had Dr. Mario in his clutches, he threw him to the other side of the stage.

Once he had seen that, Roy's mind began to wonder from the match. It wondered to the feeling of strangeness he had experienced the night before.

He had woken up in the middle of last night's thunderstorm outside of his bed. In fact, he had been having an entire conversation with Peach, who was not able to sleep that night and had gone to the kitchen to have a snack. Roy had no idea what he had been doing in his time sleepwalking, so he had answered honestly to Peach's questions.

It was quite strange how he had been sleepwalking these past few days. Since the night the smashers arrived at this mansion they resided in, Roy had found himself waking up in strange places. It was quite weird actually. He went to sleep in his bed every night and woke up in some outlandish place to be at that time of the night. One morning, he woke up to a chef screaming at him for sleeping on the intended breakfast that morning.

He heard a couple of people gasp, and his attention turned back to the screen. Apparently, Bowser had almost been knocked off, but he had come back and used a spinning shell attack on Dr. Mario. This sent Dr. Mario across the stage.

Roy looked over to Mario. Dr. Mario was a second iteration of Mario that Master Hand had made a separate entity just for the Super Smash Brothers tournament. He had done that to a select few people in the tournament and to list some would take a while to do. Of course, Mario treated this separate entity of himself as a separate person, treating him with the amiability he gave to everybody else, so it would be natural for him to be concerned.

Of course, Roy knew that Dr. Mario was a little different. Since Dr. Mario was the medical expert of the group, he was always under stress of time to run around and heal every little cut and sickness the smashers endured.

Dr. Mario landed a punch on Bowser as Roy thought of Jigglypuff's absence from the tournament. Jigglypuff was reportedly ill when the tournament started, but she told Roy the truth; she felt that this tournament did not feel in any way correct. Looking at the blood-red walls of the mansion, Roy was only able to think that Jigglypuff was correct.

Roy looked back at the monitor just in time to see Bowser slam his spiky shell into Dr. Mario. This sent him flying out of the arena.

"Game!" shouted a voice somewhere.

* * *

"Relax, doctor," said a sweet woman's voice.

"I know I should relax," said Dr. Mario. "But how will I look to the public now?"

"Don't worry," said the woman. "We will still look at you as important."

Princess Peach of the Toadstool Kingdom had been trying to calm Dr. Mario's bout of depression. Peach knew why this bout had settled in; Dr. Mario had many patients outside of the smashers. Dr. Mario had been acting unreasonably about it though, saying that all his patients would not want to see him anymore.

"But what use does it make to look important to a small group if nobody else likes me?" asked Dr. Mario.

"A small portion is better than nothing," said Peach.

Dr. Mario was unable to counter that statement. He just stood there silently.

"I see," said Dr. Mario.

"Good," said Peach. She stood up and turned to leave the office that Dr. Mario would reside in.

"Oh, by the way, I think you may want to do away with the framed rules here," said Peach, indicating the frame right by the door.

"Why would that be?" asked Dr. Mario.

"According to your medical studies, this set of rules is outdated," responded Peach.

"You really think so?" asked Dr. Mario.

"Yes," said Peach. "Go ahead and change them."

With that, she left the office, closing the door behind her.

Dr. Mario pulled his briefcase up to his desk to take out a sheet of regulations that he had been hiding there for years. He never hung it up in the office of the regular mansion, but he would check the rules.

With this sheet in hand, Dr. Mario went up to the frame and read the rules.

"Indeed," said Dr. Mario. "These rules date back to a long time. I better update the rules."

He placed the paper on his desk, and then proceeded to remove the frame from the wall.

When he did, something sharp darted at his face. He felt extreme pain.

However, all he saw was a screen of white before he swam in an eternal sea of darkness.

* * *

"Tag! You're it!"

"Aw, man!"

"Come on, Nana! You get to chase us around now!"

"Okay, here goes!"

A young girl in a pink parka ran around, chasing a group of children and a small mouse-like creature. The girl was Nana, and she was playing with her friends. This group consisted of her brother Popo, her friend Young Link, and a creature known to the group as Pichu. They had been playing tag in the halls for hours now, and despite the threat of the object sitting there, they were having a blast.

Nana chased Pichu down the halls.

"Pichu! Pichu!" he was shouting in that characteristic trait that all Pokemon possessed.

This chase continued when Young Link ran past her. However, in his foray, he bumped into a table. The motion of the table then sent a lovely porcelain plate plummeting down to the ground.

Nana knew they were in deep trouble when she saw that plate fall.

However, instead of a dull crash, an 'ow' from Young Link was heard.

"What happened?" asked Popo suddenly.

"The porcelain plate fell on my toe," said Young Link.

Nana looked a few feet away to see the porcelain plate in one piece.

She and Pichu sighed in unison at this. At least they were not going to get in any trouble.

"Pichu pichu?" asked Pichu earnestly.

"It hurts like crazy," said Young Link.

"That's not good," said Nana. "We better take you to Dr. Mario. You said you knew where his office was, right Popo?"

"Yes," said Popo. "Follow me!"

The group of three people followed Popo, Young Link limping on his broken toe. They followed him down two flights of stairs and a hallway before they came upon a door.

"Here's his office," said Popo.

Young Link limped to the door. As he did, Nana thought she heard a splashing noise.

"What's that?" asked Nana.

"What's what?" asked Young Link.

"I'm hearing a splash under your feet," said Nana.

Young Link shrugged his shoulders.

"Somebody probably spilled some water around here," said Young Link.

He opened the door to Dr. Mario's office.

Nana, as well as the other three with her, beheld a shocking scene in front of them.

Off to one side, a flung picture frame was seen, with shards of glass being stained a deep red. A red fluid covered the area of the white floor, and this pool of blood even went so far as to stain the whitewashed walls a deep red at the base of the walls. By this picture frame was Dr. Mario.

Dr. Mario had a knife embedded deep in his face.

All was silent as the four kids took the scene in with terror.

Then, the mansion was coated in a blood-curdling scream.


	4. Chapter 3

Author: Alright, KILL THE EMPIRE here writing chappy 3. Even though I don't do horrors anymore, I'm willing to give this one a shot, so I hope you enjoy my first chapter in La Belle.

Everybody gathered around the mutilated corpse of Doctor Mario and stared at horror. Link gulped as he wondered who would do such a thing, while Peach had her face buried in Zelda's shoulder, while she continued to hold her in a slight embrace.

All the others stared in horror as the corpse laid there with a look of horror upon its face. Everybody continued to stare until the doors busted open and Master hand flew in screaming "Out of my way!"

He stopped to take a look at the corpse. He growled and then looked up at the smashers.

"Who did this?" Master hand growled furiously. Everybody stood there staring blankly at the hand. Eventually Falco stepped out and said, "We have no idea, the kids found him like this."

Master hand looked down at the corpse and struggled to pull the butcher knife out of his face, but it was in there pretty tight. After a few yanks, it became free, but had bits and pieces of the red dripping exoskeleton attached to it.

A few of the smashers fainted, while others vomited at the scene. Master hand wiped the knife clean and tore what was left of the doctor's skull off of the knife and turned to Peach.

"Peach," he called to her.

Peach gulped and stepped forward.

"This is your knife." Master hand said as he shoved the handle a few inches away from her face.

"What?" Peach burst out unintentionally. "But, how could it be my knife?"

"You offered to help cook the meals." Master hand said. "And YOU are the only one that was allowed into the kitchen."

"Sir, maybe one of the chefs did it." Luigi barked out. Master hand growled at him.

"Impossible, the chefs are wire frames I have built, and they have never malfunctioned on me, EVER!" The white glove was ready to turn red and burst. He then snapped his fingers and two Wire frames entered the room. "Take her away to the dungeon until further notice!"

The wire frames gave a cold stare to Peach and grabbed her by the arm. Marth stepped out and screamed "You can't do this! There isn't enough evidence!"

"Yeah!" Fox said as he stepped out.

"I HELPED HOST THIS TOURNAMENT! AND I WILL SOLVE THIS CASE!" Master hand boomed. "AND IF ANYONE HAS ANY OBJECTIVES, I'LL LET YOU STAY WITH PEACH IN THE DUNGEON!"

Marth and Fox backed up and growled. But then Kirby stepped forward.

"Umm sir, if Peach is jailed who am I to fight in the tournament?" Kirby asked.

"You will still fight Peach. She will just be in the cells, waiting for her turn. And don't worry Peach; I will let you train for your match. In the mean time, continue the tournament. Luigi, Ness, go to the Battle Field and start fighting. If anything comes up, I will announce it and let you know my progress on it. And if anything I do not know about comes up, report it to me, IMEDIATELY!"

Master hand flew out of the room, along with Peach and the two wire frames. Meanwhile, Captain Falcon was pale.

"What's wrong Captain Falcon?" Roy asked.

"Everybody was supposed to be here right?" The racer said. Roy nodded in confirmation. "Where's Mewtwo?"

Roy began to turn pale too.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ness and Luigi faced each other. The battle field program began to run normally, and the crowd began to cheer.

"READY!"

The two jumped into a fighter stance, and gulped.

"GO!"

Ness and Luigi jumped out to begin their fight.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roy ventured around the mansion, pale as ever. His hand continued to shake as he looked at himself. Blood soaked his hands, and partially his armor. _What is wrong with me?_ He continued to wonder around the mansion, calling Mewtwo's name. He hoped every corner he turned, he would find him, but the inner feeling inside him knew.

Sharp pain gathered into his head. He kneeled down and let out a cry for mercy. _What is with my head?_ HE rolled on the ground and kicked his feet everywhere, the pain drove him crazy. He was all alone, hands soaked in blood, in unsurpassed pain. He cried for help, but soon the pain flew away as if nothing happened. Roy rolled over on his knees and pushed himself back up.

_What happened?_

He turned around and screamed when he saw a pale face. It gave the look of a frail, old man. It's eyes were black, and missing its eyebrows. The face covered itself with wrinkles and gave off a ghastly look. It's long, jet black hair jetted down the face as it gave a look of death at Roy. Roy blinked and saw his own reflection in a mirror. He began to shake his head and muttered "Sergio" Right before passing out.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luigi back flipped and landed on a platform as Ness continued to charge at him with his homerun bat. Luigi was on his last stock, and Ness had three stocks left. He was doomed.

Ness swung horizontally at Luigi's face, which caused him to duck, and soon, threw his leg out at Luigi, knocking him off the stage.

Luigi sighed as the feeling of loosing slipped through him. His heart was covered with agony, he desperately wanted to win, but he knew he couldn't win it all. _Good job Ness, for a little boy, you sure are strong._

He continued to wait for the teleports to bring him back to the mansion safely. Luigi continued to wait, until he realized something was wrong. He looked around at the eternal darkness, and gasped. _What the hell?_

He continued to fall until a sharp pain flew into his back. He heard a few cracks and lifted his head. He was in terrible pain, and for some reason, he could not get up. When his vision became clear, he realized he was laying on some sort of hard, cold metal. The room around him was gray, and filled with chains. Luigi began to cry out for help.

Nobody came. He continued to look around his environment until he saw the skeletons staring at him with a cold glare. They were chained to the wall, and could do nothing but wait patiently for all eternity.

Luigi continued to cry for help until the pain in his back subdued him. He tried to move, but failed. He was able to move his arms, but moving his shoulder blades were futile, he was stuck lying on his back upon the cold, hard floor. He let out an agonizing cough, which was soon followed by globs of blood.

Luigi soon realized the reason he was unable to move. He wasn't paralyzed, he had broken his back upon the impact of the fall. He was able to breath fine, but soon something was wrong. The air had become stiff, and breathing became harder. _Where am I? And what's wrong with me?_

"Hello Luigi," A raspy voice was heard throughout the room. Luigi looked around and cried out "PLEASE HELP ME!"

"I'm sorry Luigi, I cannot do that, you have lost." The raspy voice let out a small chuckle. It sounded half dead, half alive. As if one had lost their voice, and made many attempts to speak. "When one looses, there is no use in living, life is meaningless."

"Please!" Luigi cried out, but the pain overwhelmed him to shout. The raspy voice began to laugh, but stopped once Luigi's breathing became raspy.

"Do you like my gas chamber? I built it for you." The voice said calmly.

"Where are you?" Luigi looked around, and saw nobody, the only cracks in the chamber was a vent. Could the voice be coming from that vent? "Who are you?"

"I could tell you, but once you die, you will realize the truth, very shortly."

"Die?" Luigi was shivering now, he had never been so scared in his life. He was actually going to die. "What are you going to do to me?"

"I will not do a thing to you, the gas will." The voice began to chuckle louder. "While we speak, t he room is being filled with methane. It's an odorless, and colorless gas, so you cannot see it. But those who inhale it, will go through a state of asphyxiation. Luigi, you will asphyxiate."

Luigi was confused, and soon his head began to throb. He had no clue what asphyxiation was.

"What the hell is that?" Luigi's voice began to fade away, it took more strength then he realized to speak.

"It's a four stage process. Stage one: Twenty point nine to nineteen point five percent of oxygen by volume, increase pulse and breathing rate with disturbed muscular coordination."

Luigi felt his heart pound out of control. He could hear the beating, and feel his stomach curl up. The pounding began to drive him insane. He tried to move his arm to clutch his arm, but it refused to work.

"Stage two: Twelve to nineteen point five percent oxygen by volume, faulty judgment, rapid fatigue, and insensitivity to pain."

The room began to swirl around in Luigi's eyes, his eyelids became heavy, he wanted to sleep, but he could not fall asleep, not now. His arm twitched and slammed into the cold hard metal. He barely opened his eyes to make out his bleeding arm, but why didn't he feel it? The pain in his chest increased, as Luigi could barely speak, much less scream.

"Stage three: Ten to six percent oxygen by volume, nausea and vomiting, collapse, and permanent brain damage."

Luigi's stomach continued to curl and soon his head twitched to the right and began to spew out many forms of vomit everywhere. HE continued to vomit as the pain in his chest increased. The true form of agony showed its musky face at Luigi as he continued to uncontrollably vomit. HE had no idea where he was now, he could not think, he could only concentrate on the pain as all sources of light began to fade away.

"And finally, stage four: Less then six percent by volume, convulsion, breathing stopped, and death."

Luigi's chest exploded with pain as he felt himself to cease breathing, finally the light faded as he drifted into an eternal sleep. Luigi's corpse laid in the chamber, lost, confused, and with an expression of sadness etched in his face.

Author: Alrighty, I have made yet, another sick and twisted piece of fan fiction. I hope you enjoyed my chapter, and have a happy Thanksgiving!


	5. Chapter 4

**Three chapters of chill…let's add a fourth one to the mix. Looks like it's my turn.**

**Falco: Hey everyone!**

**If you don't know who's writing this chapter…yeah…XD Anyway, it's just going to be Falco up here with me. Closing each of my chapters will be Marth and Bowser.**

**Falco: Yup! So…uh…well, since I don't have to constantly say a disclaimer, now what?**

We start the chapter. Okay then. For everyone out there, here's _La Belle_'s fourth chapter!

_He didn't want it to end this way…_

_Yet he knew he was powerless…_

_Fear bit into his heart, and made him faint…terror stuck his mind, and he could not think…sorrow raged his body, and he was powerless…_

_Why did this have to happen?_

…_Why did he…have to… to… …_

Mario ran throughout the mansion, now screaming Luigi's name. Why didn't he come back? Where was he?

His heart was hammering now, and not because of being alone in the…"less occupied" halls of the mansion. It also wasn't because of the many paintings that seemed to be staring at his running form.

No…it was the fear of losing the ones he loved. First Dr. Mario, his counterpart, is found dead, with a knife jammed in his face…then Peach is suspected of the crime, and is locked away…and now Luigi had vanished…without a trace…

What was going on? Where was he? And what about Mewtwo, who also seemed to vanish into thin air?

Mario shook his head angrily. He didn't have enough time to think about Mewtwo! Right now he had to concern himself with Luigi.

He spent two hours searching, although it felt to him like more; two hours of pounding footsteps, of hopeless name calling…of desperate searching. Upon seeing no trace of his brother, the plumber wandered back to his room, where Yoshi was standing.

"Did you find anything?" the dino asked hopefully.

"No," Mario replied dimly. "There's no sign of him anywhere. What happened?"

"Ness said he never showed up after the battle," Yoshi said. "Maybe we should check the arenas themselves?"

"Master Hand says nothing down below," Mario said darkly. "So there's no bother even looking. And, of course, what he says goes."

"GUYS!" A voice shouted. There was a rush of footsteps, then the sound of something slamming into the door. "Owwww…" Mario opened his door to find a dazed Pichu.

"What's going on?" Mario asked the little mouse, who came to his senses fairly quickly.

"Ness is locked up too!" Pichu replied. Mario and Yoshi faced each other, shocked. "You missed it! Master Hand said Ness tampered with the teleportation system somehow, and so he decided to lock him up with Peach."

"Why isn't Peach released?" Mario asked, half shouting.

"Well, according to Master Hand, it's cause, and I quote, 'It is better to be on the safe side.'"

"What about that dude, Albrecht?" Yoshi asked. "Did anyone tell him people are dying?"

"I dunno," Pichu replied, shaking his head. "Maybe."

"I hope so," Mario muttered.

_There was nowhere he could run…but that didn't matter…_

_He couldn't move anyway._

_He could hear the footsteps…echoing louder. He could feel his heart hammering inside him. He could feel…_

D.K. and Bowser stared long and hard at the T.V. screen located in the Match Lounge, despite it being black. The next battle was going to begin soon, however, and the two did not want to lose their seats.

"So, who's up next?" D.K. asked absentmindedly.

"Mr. Game and Watch against Marth," Bowser replied.

"Game and Watch doesn't stand a chance," D.K. said.

"I dunno," the koopa countered. "He's been training an awful lot, Game and Watch. But will he match Marth? That's the question."

"Nah."

Mr. Game and Watch stood in the center of his room. He had never felt more nervous in his life, which confused him. It was just another tournament…wasn't it? True, Mewtwo and Luigi vanished, and Dr. Mario was killed…but that was just coincidence…

…wasn't it?

"Game Watch?" A voice brought the two dimensional figure to his senses. His door opened to reveal Marth, his opponent.

"Hi," Game Watch said cheerfully. Seeing the swordsman dispelled him of his fears, despite the fact he was his opponent. "Is it time?"

The prince nodded, and the two headed for their arena, which was the Temple. But before entering the arena, Marth stopped.

"Wait," he said. Game Watch looked confused. "May the best smasher win. Good luck."

"Uh huh! You too! Good luck!" the flat smasher said, holding out his hand. The two combaters shook hands; then entered the arena. The crowd began to cheer as the announcer's voice boomed over their heads.

"Ready? GO!"

The battle began.

Ganondorf stared long and hard at the patch of ground, quickly realizing that someone had dug sometime before. Whoever it was obviously tried to camouflage what he or she did, but still, the ground looked just a tiny bit uneven…

Not to mention that he also saw this place in a dream.

Grabbing a shovel he took from a broken down shed located nearby the mansion, the gerudo began to dig up whatever was down there.

Game Watch, slightly panting, pulled out his bell and gently swung it back and forth as he awaited his opponent's return. It was more of a stress reliever in battle rather than a taunt. Both combaters lost their first stock; however, they knew the battle wasn't over yet.

He spied Marth dropping from the teleporter designed to bring the smashers back to the stage, and he hid. Game Watch knew if he rushed in, it would result in trouble, so he played differently.

Not that it was strongly working…the prince eventually found the two dimensional smasher and smashed his away. Game Watch caught himself as he fell and pulled out his Judgment Hammer. The attack was successful, but the number was only two.

Ganondorf dimly wondered how deep this hole was, and what was hidden in it. When he stood to catch his breath, he saw he already dug half his height. He wondered what the others, especially Master Hand, would think if they saw him here. Would they think him nuts?

He continued to dig.

The tide of the battle had turned in Marth's favor; Game Watch had too much damage and only one stock remaining.

No items graced the stage, so the flat smasher was on his own. He dodged a few of the sword swipes aimed in his direction, but one unlucky blow, for him at least, sent him away and off the stage.

He jumped, double jumped, and gave a short cry; two of his fellow kind, both firemen, appeared with a trampoline. Using the trampoline as a spring, Game Watch successfully reached the edge of the Temple.

But that was what Marth was waiting for. Game Watch looked up, only to see Marth bring down his sword on him; a fully charged Shield Breaker attack. The attack hit the flat smasher, and he was quickly sent back off the sides. He had no chance.

"GAME!"

The shovel hit wood, which surprised Ganondorf. Putting it aside and using his hands, he found the top of what looked to be a…wooden casket…

The gerudo shivered. To his surprise, it didn't appear to have any sort of lock on it. He somehow managed to open it…

…only to find Mewtwo's lifeless body…

Game Watch frowned, but at the same time, he wasn't upset at all. Well, he wasn't _that _upset anyway. He had faced a difficult opponent, and did the best he could.

He walked back to his room, but with each step he took, he felt the nervousness return…and get stronger. He glanced backwards, but nothing was there. Letting out a gulp, he continued on his way, ignoring the little voice screaming at him to be near people.

His room looked no different than before, but there was a strange feeling lurking in the air…he made sure to lock his door before jumping onto his strangely made bed.

Before he could think about resting, his door exploded. There he was, standing in the doorway. Game Watch was shaking, badly.

"The time has come," he said in a raspy voice. Game Watch shook his head. "Do not deny your fate. Your time has come. Will you be like the others, or must I do things the hard way?"

Game Watch didn't say anything; instead he let his actions answer that. He bolted. He ran past him and rushed away; his goal being the main lounge that most of the smashers should be in right now.

However, before he could turn into the next hallway, he felt a strong burst of pain, and fell to the ground. Two steel spikes were embedded into his legs.

There was nowhere he could run…but that didn't matter…

He couldn't move anyway.

He could hear the footsteps…echoing louder. He could feel his heart hammering inside him. He could feel…the knowledge that he wasn't going to make it seep into his brain…and he accepted it.

He didn't want it to end this way…

Yet he knew he was powerless…

Fear bit into his heart, and made him faint…terror stuck his mind, and he could not think…sorrow raged his body, and he was powerless…

Why did this have to happen?

…Why did he…have to…to…die…?

He stood there, looking over his flat victim. He held seven more spikes in his hands. With quick, deadly swiftness, he stuck, embedding the spikes into Game Watch.

Two in each shoulder…

Two in each hand…

Two in the head…

And the last in his neck…

With a smirk, he knew his job was done. He looked to make sure no one was around before walking off.

Leaving behind a hall of silence, complete with a little mat of black…

That mat being the smasher once known as Mr. Game and Watch.

**Bowser: That's the end of her chapter!**

**Marth: The fourth victim has fallen. And well, there's not much else to say. Review!**


	6. Chapter 5

BabyGurl here once again with another chapter. I'm terribly sorry for the delay. Blame most of it on me, because I have been busy. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it.

Enjoy!

La Belle 

Chapter 5

A murderer was in the mansion?

The thought frightened Fox. A murderer was among them, blending in with the terrified group of smashers. The murderer was a clever one, and hid his or her true emotions acting like everything was new to them. Deep down, hidden underneath the phony fear laid a wicked smile. They're smiling watching the rest of the smashers running around like cowards and getting locked up for things they weren't responsible for.

It was all a game.

That's what Fox McCloud believed as he and the large Bowser wandered the halls of the mansion. They were both silent as if waiting for something terrible or frightening to happen. Fox never had a chance to shake off his nervousness ever since Mewtwo had mysteriously vanished from the mansion. Once Doctor Mario's life ended shortly, the chaos and panic had grown.

It was surprising that the tournament was still being held even at the presence of a murderer. The smashers were getting killed one by one, yet that didn't stop the matches from occurring. Fox found it strange how a smasher ended up being murdered right after a match. The pattern had continued, but Fox was still puzzled.

"You hear?" Bowser's deep harsh voice suddenly snapped Fox back to reality. "Luigi's missing."

Fox's eyes widened. "Luigi now?" He took a deep breath as they both turned a corner. "Who's going to be next?"

Bowser chuckled deeply. "That's question no one can answer."

Fox ignored Bowser's laugh and looked ahead at the long hallway. So many doors were lined up, stretching down what looked like the never-ending path. There were so many opportunities for the murderer to jump out and strike at either one of them. So many doors…so many windows. Just them being alone made it terrifying.

The brown haired fox suddenly stopped in the middle of the hallway. He blinked a couple of times watching as Bowser continued as if nothing out of the ordinary stuck out at him. It took the large lizard a couple of steps before finally realizing his companion wasn't following. Bowser eventually stopped as he turned his attention back to the young kitsune.

Fox's eyes averted down to the carpet. The blue carpet had a large black stain, pouring out from the door next to him. Fox's heart pounded violently against his chest as his mind raced at whatever possibilities the stain could have been from. Bowser's blue eyes followed Fox's gaze down to the carpet. He too noticed something was wrong.

With shaky hands, Fox reached over and grabbed the doorknob. He hesitated at first, thinking the worst, but finally managed to pull himself together. Without much final thought he turned the knob and pushed the door open revealing the inside of the dark room. Fox didn't need the light, to know that something horrible had happened. His mind sensed it, and once the light was on, Fox knew he was right.

The sight in front of him caused him to step back in shock. An unpleasant feeling suddenly took over in his stomach as the urge to vomit increased. Bowser noticed Fox's expression and stepped forward to get a glance in the room. The discovery they found left them both speechless; it was hard to believe the big bad Bowser had nothing to say.

It was something they both should have expected, especially in the situation they are in, but it was something both Fox and Bowser weren't ready to face.

"Bowser…" Fox managed to say. "Is that…"

Bowser nodded in response. His eyes were glued to the room; no matter how hard he tried he couldn't look away. A fellow 2-D smasher was lying on the ground in his dorm. His body laid lifeless on the ground, for he was impaled numerous times in places that would make a person cringe at the thought of being impaled in those spots. A large puddle of black blood was seen around his body, as it soaked the floor pouring out into the hallway.

"We must tell the others…" Bowser explained. He finally tore himself away from the un-forgetful sight. Fox nodded silently. "…About Mr. Game and Watch's death."

"How much longer are we going to sit in here?"

Peach shrugged at the question. She was afraid to answer it herself. They could be in here for months, or maybe just a few hours longer. It all depended on Master Hand. If they were proven innocent then they were able to leave. So far nothing had turned up, and it left Peach and Ness locked up longer to sit and contemplate.

The Mushroom Princess leaned her back firmly against the wall, as she brushed out the winkles of her dress. She sat in the only bed silently staring out at the small room. She felt as if she was in prison. The gray walls seemed to corner her in and the lack of entertainment left her in complete boredom. Only a bed, couch, sink and toilet were in the room. The metal door on the wall near Peach never seemed to open for the longest time. It was bothering her. She was locked in from the outside.

Ever since Ness was locked up, Peach was able to communicate with someone. Of course, Ness had his own duplicate room, but Master Hand was generous enough to let them talk for a bit. Even with the young smasher there, conversations were lacking. It was hard to keep one going, especially during the situation they were in. Everything left Peach too traumatized to even speak.

"I bet Ganon did it…" Ness exclaimed. He accompanied Peach at the time, sitting over on the couch continuously playing with his yo-yo. " He seems to be the type to murder people…" Peach's dull azure eyes averted to the black haired smasher. She listened to him ramble on, about who the murder was. "Then again…maybe Bowser was responsible." Ness paused bringing his hand to his chin. "But why am I targeting the bad guys? It could be someone we least expect it…like Captain Falcon!"

Peach sighed deeply lowering her head. Her eyes burned for being so exhausted. She found it hard to sleep at night. "I just want this to end. This is horrible." Peach explained, finally speaking ever since Ness came into her room. "Why would someone want to kill us?"

"That's a good question." Ness pondered the thought. "Maybe it was something we did."

"Did we really offend anyone?" Peach stammered. She slammed her hand on the bed. "All we are doing is competing in a tournament."

Ness's eyes widened. "I can see this is really troubling you…"

"I got blamed for something I didn't do!" Peach shouted. She took a deep breath, calming herself down. "I'm surprised you're being cool about it."

Ness shrugged. "I didn't do anything…I know that for a fact."

Peach turned her attention to the door, listening carefully as it unlocked. She felt her heart jump with excitement as the door opened and Zelda and Marth walked into the room. Peach leaped off the bed ran over toward her friends, embracing them with a hug. Zelda laughed as Marth smiled. Peach felt relieved seeing them, as if they were her ticket out of the prison.

Ness raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head to the side. He held a puzzled expression upon his face, wondering why Princess Zelda and Prince Marth were here.

"Is time for me to head back to my room?"

Marth faced the black haired child and shook his head. "We came to get Peach."

Peach suddenly became anxious. "Why?"

Zelda smiled. "It's your turn in the tournament. You're going against Kirby."

"Kirby?" Peach repeated perplexed.

Marth nodded in response. "Master Hand sent us to get you."

"Any news on what's happening so far?" Ness questioned from the couch on the other side of the room.

Zelda and Marth both shook their heads. Zelda cupped her hair behind her ear before crossing her arms. "Nothing so far…"

Marth frowned, as his blue eyes averted to the smasher. "But everyone fears the murderer will strike again…"

Ganondorf stared for a long time at the body he had uncovered. The shovel was still gripped within his hands, the casket wide open in front of him. He never believed that it would be him who discovered Mewtwo's disappearance. It was obvious the murderer was responsible for this. Mewtwo was the first to die.

Mewtwo still seemed in a state of shock. His body laid still with his arms at his side. His purple eyes were open, which caused Ganondorf to refuse eye contact. His mouth was sealed with what looked like masking tape. The Pokemon didn't deserve to die. No one did.

Footsteps were heard behind Ganondorf, which caused him to drop the shovel and spin around holding his hands up about to attack. A startled scream was heard as Ganondorf lowered his head to the blue Ice Climber. Popo's frightened blue eyes looked up at the Gerudo, before averting to the open casket.

"What…" He stopped short and stepped around Ganondorf, noticing Mewtwo's body.

Popo's face suddenly went pale. Ganondorf dropped his arms to his side as he studied Popo's expression. His bottom lip trembled as he looked up at Ganondorf, his eyes terrified. He looked as if he had seen a murderer. Ganondorf knew what Popo was thinking.

"I didn't do it…"

"You…you killed Mewtwo." Popo exclaimed softly. He shook his head, this time shouting. "You killed him and put him in this casket you—"

Popo couldn't even finish his sentence, before Ganondorf swooped down and grabbed the front of his coat. Being light compared to the tall Gerudo, Popo was easily lifted off the ground, his feet dangled as he stared at Ganondorf into his heated crimson eyes.

"I said I didn't kill him." Ganondorf repeated sternly. "I found him in the casket."

Popo managed to turn his head and look down at Mewtwo's body. He cringed and immediately looked away. "What were you doing digging?"

Ganondorf loosened up and lowered the Ice Climber back to the ground. He took a deep breath, crossing his arms. "I had a dream…"

Popo's brown eyebrows arched in bewilderment. "What?"

"Look. We need to let everyone know about this." Ganondorf faced Popo. "Where are they?"

"Getting ready to watch the next match."

"Ready? GO!"

Falco's heart pounded with anticipation as he watched the battle on the screens in front of him. Peach and Kirby were fiercely battling each other on the Stadium. They had a lot of space to move freely, but kept their distances close to pound some heavy surprise attacks on each other.

For a moment, Falco's attention turned to the other smashers crowded in the room. Most of them were chattering about Luigi's sudden disappearance. Mario started the popular conversation. Only a couple of smashers paid close attention to the match, those who were actually interested and the friends of Peach and Kirby.

The blue bird stood to his feet and moved his seat toward Roy and Young Link at the back of the room. The two swordsmen's had their eyes glued to the TV screen. Falco decided to join them, since they weren't the ones talking about the missing plumber. Falco felt sorry for Mario, but he believed the murderer had gotten Luigi. Just like Mewtwo.

"Pretty awesome fight, right?" Falco questioned.

Young Link lowered his eyes to the gunman and smiled nodding. "Peach is ahead."

"Do you think she is going to win?" Falco asked, as he briefly looked over at the battle.

Peach had just picked up the wooden bat and started to swing it around as Kirby puffed into the air, floating above her head.

Young Link nodded in response to Falco's question. "Peach is determined to win this fight. She's letting out her anger, because she has been locked up."

Falco agreed with the young elf. "You're right." He turned to the silent redheaded prince and nudged him on his arm. "What do you think, Roy? You think Peach will win?"

Roy blinked as he looked over at Falco, shrugging. "It's a close match. It could be anyone's game."

By the time the match was over, the door leading into the room had violently swung open. Ganondorf and Popo stepped inside. Determination was held upon Ganondorf's face, while Popo's was pale with fear.

"What's going on?" Yoshi's voice was heard within the crowd.

"We found Mewtwo." Ganondorf explained. "Come follow us."

Only half of the smashers had left the room following the Gerudo and Ice Climber. A couple stayed behind, not wanting to witness another deceased body, while the others waited for the end of the match. Falco, Roy, Mario, and Pichu were those remained.

"Game!"

Falco felt himself smile, at the sight of the winner. He frowned watching as Pichu and Roy finally left the room.

"Falco!" 

Falco turned his attention to Fox who ran up to him. "What?"

"Where's everyone?"

"Ganondorf took them to see Mewtwo's body. He's been found." Falco replied.

Mario noticed the exhausted Fox and walked over to the two gunmen. " What's wrong Fox?"

"You have to see Mr. Game and Watch. Bowser and I found him in his dorm."

Kirby sat in the battle room alone, sulking because of his loss against Peach. Peach had left to return to her special room locked up, while everyone had split up to see Mewtwo and Mr. Game and Watch's bodies. He had almost won the match, if it wasn't for Peach's tennis racket that knocked him off the stage.

The room was dark, with only a couple of lights in the ceiling on. The TV screens in front of him were black, for the match today was over. Kirby still couldn't believe that he was part of the losing team, who all turned up dead.

The sudden thought caused Kirby to shiver. Those who had died all lost their battles. Kirby noticed this. He lost too. What if it was his turn to die? Kirby didn't want to be alone and take the chances of encountering the murderer.

The pink ball stood to his feet and hurried over toward the door about to leave. Before he had reached the exit, the portal leading to the stages had turned on. Kirby jumped startled as he turned his attention to the glowing machine. There was no other match today. Why was the machine turned on?

Investigating, Kirby made his way over toward the portal. Once close enough, the portal suddenly lit transporting Kirby to one of the stages. Kirby screamed as he felt himself getting sucked into darkness, before safely landing on the Final Destination stage.

Darkness surrounded Kirby, as he anxiously looked around the empty stage. How was he supposed to get out?

"Help! Somebody help me out! I'm stuck on the stage!"

"No one is going to help you…"

Kirby froze in his spot at the eerie voice the appeared within the air. "Hello?"

"This is your final moment…"

Kirby shook his head. "No…" He whispered. "Get me out of here! Leave me alone!"

The murderer was near him. Kirby feared it was his time to go. The murderer came to take his life. It was his price he had to pay for losing the match.

Kirby stepped back, near the end of the stage. The voice was heard laughing, causing Kirby shiver in fright. A great gust of wind blew at his face, causing him to fly off the stage. Kirby screamed and panted as he puffed over and over again to get back onto the stage.

One. Two. Three. Four.

He was almost there, when another gust of wind blew him farther away. His puffing had stopped and Kirby found himself falling into the endless abyss. His scream grew louder as the falling continued. He lowered his head looking down in the direction of where he was heading.

The endless abyss suddenly vanished, replaced by the battle room and solid concrete.

Before Kirby could comprehend what was happening, he felt impact.

And his world went black.

Author's Notes:

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was a bit long, but I guess interesting too.

Happy Holidays!

Until Next Time!


	7. Chapter 6

Well, under the pressure of midterms, I got this chapter done.

Rehearsals for _Hansel and Gretel_ are well underway in my school, so you know what that means.

Also, for some of you that remember, I went to Japan a couple of weeks ago. That was a very fun trip. I got exactly four things that I won't exactly forget: the happi coat I bought in Tokyo, the two Chinese girls I met in the festival, the issues of _Naruto_ that I got (in English, unfortunately: when I tried to get it in Japanese, my dad had a fit. (H.W. glares)), and the Japanese culture! I really recommend stopping by. You won't regret it.

Anyways, that's all I have to say.

Here's the next chapter. enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6

The pit-pat of footsteps resounded in the halls as a quartet of people ran through the dorm hall.

Bowser and Fox had tried to get everybody, but according to Falco, Ganondorf had found Mewtwo. It was a relief that he had found Mewtwo, but why was it that Ganondorf arrived without him?

This sent a chill running up Mario's spine. There was so much going on… the tournament… Mewtwo and Luigi's mysterious disappearances… the murder of Dr. Mario… and now something that had happened to Mr. Game and Watch.

All this was a little too complex for Mario to handle. He kept on asking himself what was going on in the minds of the smashers.

Mario had enough sense to know that asking himself was not going to help him much, however, since he had almost no leads on anything.

He kept running to know the answers. He kept running to try to find out what was happening to everybody. He needed to know. He needed--.

A splash was heard underneath. Mario froze in his tracks.

"Here he is," said Fox, motioning a black mass inside the open dorm of Mr. Game and Watch.

Mario gagged at the horrible sight. He wondered why anybody would impale a man like Mr. Game and Watch the way he did.

"My goodness…" said Falco.

"What a horrible way to die…" said Mario.

Right then, footsteps occurred, and then, Zelda appeared to the small group.

"Why aren't you with us?" asked Zelda as soon as she approached.

The group said nothing, but rather, inched away so that the body of Mr. Game and Watch was visible to her.

Zelda said nothing for a while.

"My goodness…" said Zelda. "He was killed too? That makes three victims…"

"Three victims?" asked Fox in a somewhat confused tone of voice. "What do you mean?"

"Mewtwo was the first victim," said Zelda. "He was found buried alive."

Bowser stared at Zelda in shock.

"Are… are you serious?" asked Bowser.

"Yes," said Zelda.

All was silent for a few seconds.

"Well, that explains a lot," said Falco.

"Falco!" said Fox angrily. "Somebody has died, and that's the response you give?"

"But it's true," said Falco. "First, he doesn't show up anywhere, and then Ness misses the telepathic conversations. Makes sense, doesn't it?"

"Falco!" said Bowser. "That's highly insensitive. Now shut up before you are blamed for murdering Mew—!"

Bowser was interrupted by a scream.

"Holy hell," said Fox.

"What happened this time?" asked Mario.

"We need to check it out," said Zelda. "It came from the battle room."

The five smashers stood there, and after a while they ran down the hall and three flights of stairs to get to a passageway that led to the battle room.

When they arrived, they were greeted by a ghastly sight.

Nana lay to one side crying uncontrollably, being comforted by Young Link and Popo. Pichu stared at what was in front of him in shock.

Before the kids was a crimson lake with little white (one could jokingly say volcanic) mountains rising from the waters.

In the midst of this lake of blood lay a pink mass with red feet.

"Kirby!" said Mario in a distressed tone of voice.

The group stood there for a few seconds, staring at the corpse in horror.

"Damn it!" came Bowser's roaring voice after the silence. "I can't stand this anymore!"

"What can't you stand?" asked Zelda.

"I cannot stand the thought of being in the crosshairs of somebody intent on killing us all!" was Bowser's reply. "Damn it, I have a child to return to! I'm not going to let myself die as long as he's alive!"

"Then what do you suggest we do?" asked Fox.

"Open our own investigation, that's what!" replied Bowser.

This caught the attention of the kids.

"Are you crazy?" asked Young Link. "If you tell Master Hand about it, we're all being locked up!"

"We won't tell him," said Fox, who had apparently caught up to Bowser's suggestion. "That's what we'll do."

"But why open our own investigation?" asked Zelda.

"Yeah," said Falco. "After all, Master Hand is trying to keep us alive by finding the murderer, and—"

"He wants credit for solving the case and nothing more!" shouted Bowser. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have locked Peach and Ness in the jails the way he did! If we need to know things about the murders and disappearances, then we need to find them out on our own!"

"I couldn't agree more," said Mario.

"I think we need to know more as well!" shouted Popo.

"Okay," said Fox. "Now, since this was Bowser's idea, we'll put him at the head of the investigation. I will be a part of it as well."

"As will I," said Mario.

"I'll come along too!" shouted Popo. "Do you want to come, Nana?"

Nana had not paid attention to what was going on, but her bond to her sibling got the better of her.

"I'll go where you go," said Nana.

"I'll go too," said Zelda.

It was Falco and Young Link's turn to say something.

"I… I'm not so sure I should do this…" the two of them said somewhat sheepishly.

"Well, nobody's forcing you into this," said Zelda. "However, you must not give a word out to anybody else. I'm sure Pichu will have no problem with that since he's only outgoing in front of the other kids."

"So, when should we start?" asked Fox.

"What about the match tomorrow?" asked Mario.

"Sure," said Bowser.

Zelda said nothing.

"What's up?" asked Fox.

"I… I'm afraid I won't be able to join you tomorrow," said Zelda.

"Why not?" asked Bowser.

"That's my match, remember?" asked Zelda. "I'm going up against Yoshi tomorrow."

"Ah," said Bowser. "We'll have to inform you about what we find then."

"Indeed," said Fox. "So, is everybody else okay with this?"

The remainder who had not agreed to it nodded their heads.

"Alright, it's settled then," said Bowser. "We'll start tomorrow during the match. And not a word of this to anybody else until we get leads on what is going on."

The heads nodded again.

"Okay, good," said Bowser. "Now, what we should do is to tell everybody else about Kirby's fate."

"Agreed," said everybody else.

They slowly walked out of the battle room in a solemn manner.

The next day, their work would start.

* * *

"Well, I suspect that you would be doing something to stop the murders," said a voice with a heavy German accent. 

"I am," said a different voice.

The heavy German accent belonged to Albrecht; the very same Albrecht who had started the tournament. He was a staunch man of forty with aged hair and vigilant emerald eyes. He wore a brown business suit and a black tie with little musical instruments embroidered on it.

The second voice belonged to Master Hand.

"What exactly are you doing?" asked Albrecht.

"I'm locking up whoever seems to be a murderer around here," said Master Hand.

"Based on something, yes?" asked Albrecht.

"Based on a suspicion," said Master Hand.

"A suspicion?" asked Albrecht somewhat disbelievingly.

"Indeed," replied Master Hand.

"Master Hand!" said Albrecht in a somewhat stupefied tone. "Do you know what you are doing to them?"

"What exactly?" asked Master Hand.

"You are locking them up on a personal preference to others!" was Albrecht's angry reply.

"I wouldn't say that," said Master Hand. "After all, it is for—"

"Do not give me anything more!" said Albrecht. "You are getting people in trouble on something you aren't even sure of! Who do you have locked up?"

"Peach and Ness," said Master Hand.

"Release them immediately!" shouted Albrecht.

"But Albrecht, I—"

"Do not give me anything about it being for the greater good!" said Albrecht. "Release them! That is an order."

"Okay, okay," said Master Hand. "Relax."

"Oh, and one more thing," said Albrecht.

"Yes?" asked Master Hand.

"If I find out that you have unjustly locked up another of your fighters on a suspicion, I will operate the tournament on my own!" said Albrecht threateningly.

"Okay," said Master Hand indifferently. One would get the feeling that Master Hand had not listened to Albrecht's threat.

He walked out of Albrecht's office somewhat glumly.

* * *

Falco woke up the next morning with a start. 

He knew the time the investigation was to start, and he knew he was not a part of it. However, he at least wanted to wish the group good luck before they began their search.

With this in mind, he jumped off the bed and changed quickly. Falco was very adept at changing clothes fast, as he had to do so often back in the Lyatt System where a mission could occur any time.

When he was dressed, he left the room, ran down the hall, and ran down a stairway to the appointed meeting spot.

When he arrived at the meeting spot, Bowser, Mario, Popo, Nana, and Fox were all present. As Falco arrived, Fox lifted his head and noticed him.

"Falco?" asked Fox. "What are you doing here? You didn't volunteer for the investigation."

"Unless he changed his mind?" asked Mario.

"Actually, no," said Falco. "I thought I would stop by to wish you luck in the investigation."

"Oh," said Bowser. "That's very kind of you."

"Yeah," said Falco. "Anyways, I'll see you guys later."

"Okay," said Fox.

Falco went back to the stairs and descended a second flight and walking down a hall to get to the match lounge.

Upon entry, Falco was surprised to find Peach lounging on the couch with Ness hungrily gobbling a makeshift breakfast on the card table.

"What are you two doing here?" asked Falco. "I thought you were locked up in the cells."

"Oh," said Peach. "Master Hand let us out of there."

"Yeah," said Ness, some milk forming around his mouth. "According to him, it was an order from Albrecht."

"Ah," said Falco. "I see."

"So, I take it that Kirby, Mewtwo, and Mr. Game and Watch were found yesterday," said Peach.

"How did you find out?" asked Falco.

"Zelda," the two former cellmates said simultaneously.

"Because we really did find them," said Falco. "At least, I found Kirby. Bowser, Fox, and Ganondorf found the other two."

"I see," said Ness.

"So, when does this match start?" asked Peach.

"Ten minutes," said Ness.

"I honestly don't get why they pick such early times to do matches," said Falco. "I honestly don't."

"It's because he feels it's the best time to do it," said a female voice outside.

The trio in the match lounge turned their heads to see a beautiful woman at the doorway. She wore a white dress with roses embroidered on the dress. Her blonde hair was tied back with a blue satin sash. Her brilliant hazelnut eyes glittered in the morning light with the intensity of the most polished pearls in the universe.

"Who are you?" asked Falco somewhat dumbstruck.

"Oh, me?" asked the woman. "I'm Isolde. My father is running this tournament."

"You must be Albrecht's daughter!" said Peach.

"How did you guess?" asked Isolde with a slight laugh.

"You said he ran the tournament," said Falco.

"Ah," said Isolde.

"Anyways, what are you doing here?" asked Ness.

"I'm on holiday," said Isolde. "While on holiday, I thought I might see father and get to know some of you as well."

"Oh," said Falco. He held his hand out. "The name's Falco Lombardi."

* * *

Bowser walked down a hallway with his investigative group following him. 

"Okay, so where should we check first?" asked Fox.

"We should inspect Dr. Mario's office," said Mario. "After all, I'm curious to see how anybody could have gotten inside the office with a butcher knife and angle him the way they did without touching him."

"They didn't find fingerprints?" asked Popo.

"The forensics didn't see them," said Mario.

"Okay," said Bowser. "So, we start with Dr. Mario's office."

Bowser led the group up a flight of stairs and down another hall to the location of the late Dr. Mario's medical office.

When they approached the door, Mario noticed something.

"Wasn't there blood here?" asked Mario.

"Not after they removed it, that's for sure," said Nana.

"They removed it?" asked Mario.

"Yes," said Fox. "Why wouldn't they?"

"Oh yeah," said Mario. "I forgot about that. Sorry!"

"Are we gonna enter or not?" asked Bowser.

Nobody said anything. Bowser eventually opened the door and stepped in the office.

"Okay," said Bowser. "Here we are."

"Does anybody remember the angle Dr. Mario was facing?" asked Fox.

Popo walked in and laid down face-up on the floor with his left side facing the door.

"I believe it was like this," said Popo.

"So, he had to be stabbed from the wall," said Bowser.

"How the hell is that possible?" asked Mario suddenly.

Nobody said anything for a long time. The TV in the office buzzed to life, revealing Zelda's fight with Yoshi.

"Wasn't there a broken frame off to one side?" asked Nana suddenly.

"Of course there was," said Popo.

"Then doesn't that mean he had to take something off of the wall?" asked Nana.

Nobody said anything.

Then, Mario spoke up.

"There was a framed set of doctor's rules over here," said Mario, pointing to a spot to the right of the doorway.

Bowser walked up to the said spot and felt it.

"That's strange…" said Bowser.

"What's up?" asked Nana.

"I don't feel a wall," said Bowser. "Rather, I feel air shooting upwards."

Bowser then pressed his hand into the spot on the wall.

Everybody in the office was shocked when his hand disappeared under a screen of white.

* * *

Zelda was very busy jumping between floats. These floats looked very eerily like Pokemon. Yoshi kept following her, trying to land a hit on her or wrest the little bomb-like object in her hands. 

Of course, Zelda was not intent on letting it happen. She was going to survive to help the investigation she was a part of, and she would win against Yoshi.

Zelda held a bob-omb in her hands. She was waiting for the perfect moment to throw the bomb at Yoshi. They both had one stock remaining; however, Zelda was in a far worse state than Yoshi, possibly because of the Entei Pokeball that Yoshi had thrown at her.

However, Zelda was using Farore's Wind as often as she could. This entitled her to a fast getaway, and she could get very far from Yoshi. This kept the green dinosaur running around. Every so often he would try a projectile, but by the time it got to where she was she had teleported away.

This cat and mouse game went on for seven minutes.

Then, Zelda had had enough. She found the float of the faux tree Pokemon and rested on its 'branches'. Yoshi jumped down, intending to kick her in the face with the back of the foot to send her flying. However, Zelda picked this time to throw her bob-omb.

The bomb connected, and Yoshi was sent flying vertically. He eventually disappeared as a dot in the distance.

"Game!" shouted a voice.

Yoshi felt himself float in midair for several seconds. He knew what came next; the warp should have picked him up by then.

But he felt like he was suspended in the air.

Yoshi began to call for help, but a croak was all he heard whenever he did.

He also thought he saw some bubbles arise as well.

Then, a brilliant light shone somewhere in the absolute darkness.

Yoshi found himself in an aquarium with metal probes finding their way into the glass that contained him.

"Hello, my friend," said a hooded figure outside of this glass.

Yoshi tried to communicate, but bubbles kept rising.

"You have no idea how comical that looks," said the figure.

Yoshi's communications attempt stopped when he saw that the figure was standing in front of what looked like a control panel.

"You are in an aquarium tank," said the figure. "No matter what you do, you cannot escape since you are surrounded on all sides by a glass barrier. To make matters worse, I have installed electric probes inside the glass. You know that water can conduct electricity very well, yes?"

Yoshi's eyes widened as he began to frantically swim around.

Unfortunately, Yoshi could not swim, so he went nowhere.

"There is no escape, my friend," said the figure, bringing his hand on the lever.

"Say goodbye to your life!" he shouted.

He pulled down on the switch.

Yoshi found himself submersed in a sea of pain. Sure, he had been zapped by others before, but what he felt then was nothing compared to what he felt in his watery grave.

Yoshi blacked out as the shocks dug into his flesh. Eventually, he saw a screen of white, and all the pain ended as he floated in a black atmosphere.


	8. Chapter 7

KILL THE EMPIRE here again, writing another chapter of our story, woohoo! Where we last left off, Yoshi lost to Zelda, an investigation team was created, and poor Yoshi croaked (literally, to my understanding), so what shall happen next?

Roy continued to stumble down the hall, clutching to walls and various other objects. _Why does this pain in my head keep coming back? Gah! _He bent over to forcibly coughed up blood. It landed on the floor and made a small splat. _What is this blood?_

The blood began to twitch a few times, and splashed when an onyx colored boot stomped down on the pile. Roy looked up in blurs to see a man. Pale, wrinkled, sadness in his eyes. The man looked down upon him with a frown. He wore jet black jeans, a logo-less black shirt, and a long, black trench coat that leered all the way to his feet. His own body was as pale as a night at a grave yard. He was tall, stood up straight, and very bony. His greasy jet black hair grew all the way down to his back. His face…Roy realized his face to be he same as the man he saw in the mirror before loosing consciousness the first time.

"Now, now, child. It'll all be over soon." He said in a raspy voice. There was a sign of cold laughter in his voice.

"You, you're that man, the one in the mirror."

The man's voice was slow, and cold. His chipped lips gave out a small cracked smile. "Yes, Roy, we have met a few days ago."

"Who are you?" Roy muttered, the pain in his head held him back from screaming. "And what do you want with me?"

"Oh, where are my manners?" His raspy voice became louder. "I go by the name of Sergio."

Roy's heart skipped a few beats as he shot down to the ground, coughing up more blood, like it was a reflex. Sergio's right eye raised at the sight of this.

"Aww, my friend, you don't look so well." Sergio's raspy voice rang in Roy's ears. IT became high pitch, making Roy's ears feel they will split open any second. "I sense your tremendous pain…A wonderful feeling it is."

Sergio cracked up into a high pitched laughter. Roy could only sit there, trembling his hands as more blood was spontaneously thrown on them. The mere presence of this man caused him great pain and conflict, and he could do nothing.

"What a pity, but fear not, the fool had the smashers released from their cells. He seems to be a little suspicious, he must be eliminated."

Roy's eyes shot open. _This man…Is he the one killing everybody?_

Sergio continued to laugh as he glared down at Roy. It was as if he was reading his mind. Roy tried to stand, but some unknown presence forced him to stay on the ground. _Who is this so called fool he is after? Is it Albrecht? Or someone else? Why am I sitting here? Why am I not fighting him? Or running? Why will my body not respond to me?_

Sergio saw Roy's struggle, and slowly ceased his laughter, but continued to hold his cold grin. "The strings are slowly attaching, you cannot fight it. The more you fight, the greater the pain."

"W-Why are you doing this? Why are you murdering everybody?" Roy's teeth were clenched, but he managed to throw the words out. Sergio's right eye brow raised.

"What do you mean child, I am not your killer. I have never killed anybody in this tournament. I am, by no means, a murderer." Sergio said in his raspy voice. "But, I do know who your killer is."

"W-Will you tell me? Or at least help me?" Roy asked.

"All I need is your body, dear child. And do not worry, once the strings finish attaching, the pain shall cease." Sergio began to crack up laughing.

Roy began to twitch, everything began to become a blur, and soon, the light faded. The last thing Roy heard, was Sergio's message: "Everything is ready. Now, it's time to play your part…"

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Bowser, Mario, Nana, Popo, and Fox all gasped as Bowser's hand slipped through the screen of white. Bowser lost his balance and took a heavy fall through the area. The investigation team just stood as they saw Bowser fly through the white screen. They all gasped when he cries of Bowser were unleashed with great force.

Fox was the first to jump through the white screen to see what was wrong. He gasped when he landed on the hard metallic tile. Bowser was on his hands and knees, very shaken up. Fox looked around the environment. It was a sort of dungeon, yet, a huge room. All metallic and gray, lit via halogen lighting, with green spots splattered on the walls.

"Wow, this place is creepy." Fox said as he continued to look around the prison like area. "But no need to scream, unless you're scared THAT easily."

Bowser lifted a shaky finger and pointed at a skeleton hung by chains. Nana fainted at the sight, which caught Mario's attention.

"Nana!" Popo screamed as he looked down at the unconscious girl. "I'm sorry guys, but with my sister in this condition, I cannot continue to investigate with ya'll, besides, tomorrow I have a match with Pikachu."

Mario and Fox nodded as Bowser could only stare blankly at the skeleton. Popo was soon on his way out of the dungeon, walking through the white screen whilst carrying his sister. Bowser stood up, and the three began their exploration of the dungeon.

Soon a ghastly aroma filled Fox's nostrils. He instantly grabbed his nose and made grunting sounds.

"Guys." He called out. Bowser and Mario looked up. "Something's not right. My nose is burning like hell, I think there's something in here."

"Yeah, we can see the skeletons." Mario commented. Fox shook his head.

"No, something else, something that seemed like it just died." Fox looked around. "It smells like tainted blood and vomit."

Bowser lifted his finger. "You know, that fox there has a pretty good nose…" He looked around and noticed as lump.

Mario noticed it too and ran over to investigate, while Bowser hovered over Fox, who continued to cover his nose. Fox got used to the stench, right before an ear splitting scream was heard. Fox and Bowser knew that to be Mario's scream, and ran over to see what was wrong.

The two ran over to the lump and gasped as Mario's mouth was open wide. There on the ground, covered in blood and vomit, lied Mario's own brother, Luigi. His sad expression told the three he did not have a happy ending.

"Luigi!" Mario shouted as he jumped down over the corpse. "How did this happen!"

"He must have been beaten horribly." Bowser.

Fox's nose twitched as he realized the truth. "Guys, we must leave!"

"Why?" Bowser asked.

"I realize what happened. There is gas in the air, and it's quite fatal form the strong odor it gives off." Fox called out.

"Umm Fox, I don't smell anything." Bowser pointed out.

"Toxic gas has no odor, but my nose is stronger then the average human, I can smell it." Fox bent down to look at Luigi. "Hmm, It appears he took quite a fall, cause notice the spine is bent out of shape. And apparently from the looks of things, he was unable to move, and thus, breathed too much of the gas."

"So he suffocated from toxic gas." Bowser guessed.

"Worse, from the looks of it, it looks as if he asphyxiated."

Mario gasped, and soon his mouth was swelled up.

"Holding your breath won't do good, it's best to get out of here before anything happens-"

Fox's statement was interrupted by extremely heavy breathing coming from Bowser.

"Oh dear lord!" Mario screamed as Bowser began to role over, breathing heavily.

"Stage one, he's asphyxiating!" Fox shouted. "Hurry, we must get him out of here!"

"No…..Guys…..It's asthma." Bowser said in between heavy breaths.

"It doesn't matter, his gas is setting off your asthma!" Fox said. He grabbed Bowser's arms and began to pull, but he didn't even move an inch. "Damn!"

"Fox, I don't think that's asthma, his pulse his beating furiously." Mario said. Fox swore and tried harder to pull. "Move aside, I've done this before, watch."

Mario grabbed a hold of Bowser's tail, and began to spin around slowly. Fox pondered at this until Bowser took flight and was soon spinning around in Mario's arms as if he was the propeller of some sort of helicopter.

After a few more spins, Bowser was hurled through the air, and landed through the white screen. Fox slapped his head as he muttered "Not exactly the way I would of done it, but what ever works."

Bowser landed hard on his shell as he laid in the Doctor Mario's office. Mario and Fox rushed out of the white screen and stopped.

"We must tell everybody about this." Fox said after Bowser stood up. He looked over at Mario. "Mario, I'm terribly sorry about your brother."

Mario sighed. "It hurts, but we have very important things on our minds, this may sound heartless, but I must worry about my brother some other time."

"We must tell Master Hand." Fox said. Bowser stomped his feet.

"We can't do that, he'll only take the credit of finding that….What ever that place was!" Bowser exclaimed.

"Personally, I don't give a damn whether he takes credit or not, I just want this guy caught!" Fox announced.

"Yeah, maybe we shouldn't do this." Mario said. "We could get killed. And who knows, maybe one of us is the murderer."

The three looked at each other, then at Bowser. Bowser sighed.

"Fine, we'll tell Master Hand, even though I think it be better if we tell Albrecht, or what ever his name was." Bowser said as he made his way out of the room. The other two followed him through the hallways until they were face to face with Zelda.

"Hey guys, how's the investigation doing?" Zelda asked. She looked at the three and gave a confused look. "Where's Popo and Nana?"

"They uhh…Decided to rest up and prepare for their match tomorrow." Mario lied. Bowser sighed, he was sickened that Mario could easily lie like that in such a harsh time. "So how was your match?"

"It was tough, but I barely made it." Zelda sighed in relief. "Man, who would of known a baby dinosaur with short arms could fight like that?"

"Well I'm glad you won, but we must now speak with Master Hand." Fox said.

Zelda gasped. "What? But what happened to the whole 'he's just trying to look good' stuff?"

Bowser sighed, he knew he had to do it. "Zelda, we found Luigi."

"Well that's great. Where was he?" Zelda asked.

"He's dead." Fox said. Mario began to cough a little. Zelda gasped yet again. "It wasn't pretty either."

"The killer struck again." Bowser sighed.

"Oh, dear lord, no." Zelda said with a wide gap in her mouth. "How did he die?"

"I told you, it wasn't pretty." Fox said. "We just found him."

"Guys, I don't mind, I can bare it." Mario shouted out. "Just say it, she needs to know."

Fox sighed as he laid his hands on Zelda's shoulders. "Zelda, we found Luigi covered in blood and vomit."

"What!" Zelda shrieked. "How did he die!"

"After examining him, and the place he died in, it shows he asphyxiated, and it also showed he was dead for quite a few days." Mario said.

Zelda gave a look of confusion. "What is that?"

"A very, very, VERY bad form of strangling." Bowser said.

"Oh…" Zelda just coughed a few times.

"Come on guys, we must find Master Hand right away." Fox said.

"Hey, wait a sec, who died and made you leader? I'm still here!" Bowser growled.

"I thought you were cool with the idea." Mario said.

"I changed my mind, I say we keep investigating." Bowser stepped forth and growled.

"Bowser, this guy intends to kill us all, and if you haven't noticed, he's not stupid, and he's very insane about it!" Fox stepped out and spoke. "We must let Master Hand know about this. Besides, he must know Luigi died."

"But what about that gas chamber?" Bowser asked.

"What gas chamber?" Zelda was not only confused, but pretty scared not.

"It's where we found Luigi." Fox said. "He looked as if he was killed a few days ago, after losing to-…."

Fox gasped at the mere thought, he had figured it out. He then turned to Zelda, mouth opened wide. "Zelda, you said you won the match right?"

"Umm….Yes, why?"

"Where's Yoshi?" Fox asked.

"I don't know." Zelda said. "He didn't come back from the match. It was as if he disa-" Zelda let out a huge gasp. Fox nodded to confirm it while Mario and Bowser sat there, confused.

"Hmm, the white screen, Luigi's disappearance, and now Yoshi's…Hmm, You think the warp points have something to do with this?" Fox asked. "Maybe someone messed with the warp zones."

"Wait, what are you talking about, Fox?" Bowser asked.

"Don't you get it?" said Fox. "There's a pattern! Notice the people who have been loosing were the ones getting killed? The murderer is killing the ones who lose in the tournament, and they're probably using the warp points to warp them into their own little room specially made for killing them!"

"So who controls the warp points for when you loose in the battles?" Bowser asked.

"Master Hand does." Fox said. The others gasped.

"So you mean?" Zelda croaked.

"Yes," Fox confirmed. "Master Hand could be the murderer."

"So what do we do?" Mario asked.

"We find a way to corner Master Hand, or we can tell Albrecht." Fox said.

"Wait just one damn second! I'm the leader here, and my decision is final!" Bowser screamed. "And I say we find a way to get evidence against Master Hand and stop him!"

"Wait, what about the ones who appeared after loosing?" Mario exclaimed. "They were murdered somewhere else, and not warped!"

"Hmm…Well, Master Hand could be using that because if too many people are warped to their execution sites, everyone will suspect him, so of course he has to make a few occasions."

The four nodded and made their way down the hall to try and find a way of stopping Master Hand.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Isolde continued to stare at the trio as they glanced at her back. "Is there something on my face?"

"No, it's just…Weird you showing up at a time like this." Falco said.

"Yeah, what, with the killings and all-" Ness started, but was soon slapped by Falco.

Isolde gasped. "Killings?"

"Oh, he was joking." Falco chuckled. "I mean it's weird of you to show up right in the middle of the tournament."

"Oh, well who's winning?" She asked.

"Nobody, it's still in round one." Falco said. "Tomorrow, it will be the Ice Climbers and Pikachu."

"Climbers?" Isolde gave a puzzled look of confusion. "Isn't it one versus one?"

"The Ice Climbers counted as two people due to he fact they're twins and some other miscellaneous things." Falco chuckled.

"Oh…" Isolde felt embarrassed, she knew nothing of this tournament, only that her dad didn't want her to go. But she went anyways, she was just curious. "So when are you fighting?"

"Oh, I'm fighting after the ice climbers and Pikachu's match." Falco said. "I'm going against Mario.

"You mean THE Super Mario?" Isolde asked in awe. "Aren't you scared?"

"I can take him, while the Italian plumber jumps around, I actually go in my Arwing and shoot things." Falco assured Isolde of him being fine. "My ship could take the guy's mushroom?"

Isolde gasped. "You ride in a ship?"

Falco chuckled. "Yep, and it goes very fast, maybe you can ride in it some day."

"Oh cool!" Isolde's eyes twinkled at Falco's. Peach and Ness giggled at the moment, apparently Falco hitting on her was funny to them.

Ganondorf sighed at himself. "Damnet," he said to himself. "Why the hell does Master Hand persist on keeping this tournament running? He's not even doing a damn thing, and everybody around us are getting murdered!"

Ganondorf's anger caused him to punch a picture of Albrecht. His fist went through the frame and landed on…Nothing…

"Huh?" Ganondorf realized there was no wall to meet his angered fist, only air. "That's weird."

He tore the frame off and saw a white screen. "What's this?"

An eerie feeling came over him, he tried o ignore it, but failed. After pondering it, he decided to walk through the screen, only to find him in a type of control room.

"What is this place?" Ganondorf looked around. It was all gray cement, and a tile with many buttons, levers, and switches all laid out in front of a shield of glass. Ganondorf looked at the glass. It was full of a type of red liquid that gave out a foul odor. "What is that?"

Ganondorf examined the controls. One set of buttons had the names of the stages embroiled on them. He looked around, only to find nothing available, soon a solution came to him.

"Perhaps this is the control room." Ganondorf chuckled at his own solution, but what was that smell? Perhaps the red liquid? "What is that stuff, anyway?"

Ganondorf leaned closer towards the screen in awe. The red bubbles making their way up, quite a site. A huge crash was heard, which made Ganondorf jump. He looked at the glass and screamed at the site. Inside the glass, a green figured floated around, just, floating.

It looked as if it just died, and continued to float around the box, the figure looked allot like…

"YOSHI!" Ganondorf screamed. He backed up a few steps in fear. "WHAT IS THIS!"

Yoshi's corpse continued to drag itself around the glassed area. "If that's Yoshi's corpse, then that liquid must be….OH DEAR LORD!"

Ganondorf ran through the screen and out of the hallway as fast as he could, leaving the frame of Albrecht on the floor with it's hole punctured in it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marth, Link, and Captain Falcon gasped at Roy's unconscious body.

"Is he dead?" Marth asked. Captain Falcon bent down to check the boy's pulse.

"No, he's alive, but in a bad condition." He looked over at the blood surrounding him. "That's weird, there are no marks on him, no sign of a struggle, nothing."

"How can that be possible?" Link asked. "It's not like people just stop and bleed themselves unconscious out of the blue."

"Maybe he's sick?" Marth asked.

"With what?" Captain Falcon asked.

"Ebola perhaps?" Marth blurted out.

"Marth, that stuff is only in Africa, there is no Ebola around this area." Link said.

"How can you be sure?" Marth asked. "I mean for all we know, Captain Falcon could have it now from touching Roy's body."

"Really…" Captain Falcon went over and touched Marth. "Now you have Ebola."

Marth screamed, but was soon restrained by Link.

"Look, nobody has Ebola!" Link shouted. "I have no idea what's wrong, but we must inform Master Hand of this."

"So what do we do with the body?" Marth asked. "He's still alive, right?"

"Yeah, so let's take him to Master Hand." Captain Falcon suggested. The two nodded and soon the three were hovering over the body, picking it up and dragging it through the halls as quick as they could.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What is this?" Master Hand asked.

"It's Roy's body, we found him in the halls, he was covered in blood, but there were no marks on him." Captain Falcon explained. "We checked his pulse, he's alive, but he needs help."

"Right." Master hand snapped his fingers and soon two wire frames appeared out of no where. "Take this boy to the medical facility, and scan him for any debris inside of him or any finger prints what-so-ever."

The two saluted and walked over to Roy's body. They picked it up and soon disappeared.

"Rest easy Roy." Master Hand calmly said. He looked over towards Pikachu, who was just walking into the room. "Rest easy, you got a long match ahead of you."

The Next morning Nana and Popo woke up early to get ready for the match. They swiftly ate and readied their hammers, they were ready to fight.

The next thing they knew, they were on Pokemon Stadium facing Pikachu.

"READY!" The announcer called.

"GO!"

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Roy floated in a black abyss. Surrounded by nothing, only pure darkness filled the foul air. The darkness formed itself into the shape of Sergio.

"The strings are attached." The paled raspy voice said to Roy. Roy began to scream in pain. "Do not worry child, it's almost over."

The darkness cracked into shattered pieces, and the pieces fell to the floor, revealing the bright light coming from the medical facility Roy found himself in. The fractured pieces of darkness were no more.

He sat up and stared at the Wire frames, that only stared at him with no emotions what-so-ever. Roy simply jumped out of the bed, and walked out, leaving the Wire Frames the job of cleaning the bed, and moving on to the autopsies of the murdered corpses.

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Pikachu ducked under Nana's Hammer, and suffered a chilling feeling from Popo's block of ice. It was completely unfair. Pikachu had one stock left while the Ice Climbers had two stocks left.

Pikachu was against the two Ice Climbers, which continued to pummel Pikachu until he was off of the stage.

In the audience, Master Hand stood, waiting. He had assigned two wire frames to wait at the bottom of the stage. Master Hand knew the murderer was somehow controlling the warps from the control room. He had inspected it many times, but only found Yoshi's corpse.

Sure it was a little freaky, but Master Hand decided to tell no one. He was waiting for someone to "find" Yoshi, and he knew that person would be the killer, for the control room was very well hidden, nobody could just easily stumble on to it.

"GAME!" The announcer called. Pikachu screamed as he made his way down the ledge. He knew it was over, but maybe next time.

Pikachu continued to fall, and fall, and fall until he realized there was no warp.

"What's going on?" Pikachu screamed. Soon flat concrete met him. There was a huge crack, and pain flew in Pikachu's back He tried to move, but was unable to.

Pikachu screamed for help, but nothing came. What was happening? Pikachu was approached by two shady characters _The murderers! There are two of them!_

They came out of the shadows to reveal themselves as Wire Frames. Pikachu screamed. "Go away murderers!"

The two continued to walk silently and pulled out a stretcher. It was placed on the ground, which Pikachu was later placed on. He screamed in pain as he was being taken out of the room on the stretcher.

One of the wire frames stopped and shot something in Pikachu, soon the pain was gone, while they continued to take him out of the room.

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Roy grabbed his head in pain as Sergio appeared right behind him. Roy turned around to face the tall, pale man.

"What do you want with me?" Roy screamed in pain.

"I want to inform you that somebody has survived a murder." Sergio said in his raspy voice.

"Who survived?" Roy asked.

Sergio began to give out another deep, cold laugh. "The fool, he is becoming a pest…"

He walked off into the shadows and soon disappeared. Roy was confused, who was that man? And why does he keep coming back to him?

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Pikachu was presented before Master Hand. All the smashers were gathered around him except Isolde.

"What did you see?" Master Hand screamed.

"Darkness, just, darkness." Pikachu said with fear in his voice. "I didn't get a good look at the room I was in, I just know if the wire frames hadn't showed up, I have no idea what would of happened to me."

Roy ran into the room shrieking. Everybody went from Pikachu to Roy. Roy stopped and fell to his knees, crying.

"Roy, why are you not in the medical facility?" Master Hand asked. "And what's wrong!"

"I…I remember what happened." Roy said, he seemed different then from before. "I was told you found my body."

"Yes, we assumed the worse!" Marth said.

"Were you attacked?" Zelda asked. Fox gave a cold glare at Master Hand.

"Yes, I was attacked by the murderer." Roy said in a shaky tone. The only picture he could see in his mind was the face of Sergio… smiling.

"Who's the murderer?" Master Hand growled.

Roy lifted his shaky index finger and pointed to Pikachu. Everybody gasped and glared at Pikachu. Pikachu laid on the stretcher.

"You…" Master Hand Growled.

"No, I did no such thing!" Pikachu screamed.

"Enough," Master Hand snapped his fingers. "Take that rat to the prisons!"

Pichu ran up in front of Master Hand.

"No, Pikachu would never do such a thing!" Pichu screamed.

"Yeah!" Fox stepped out and screamed. "If anybody did anything, it's YOU!"

"What!" Master Hand growled and turned to Fox. He looked as if he was going to murder him. "What makes you think that I would do such a thing?"

"You are the only person who has access to the control room, and knows how to control the warps. A lot of the murders have taken place at various places via warp!" Fox screamed. "Not to mention we found Luigi's body in a type of gas chamber. And unless Albrecht is some kind of psycho, you must be the only person who has something to do with it!"

Ganondorf remembered Yoshi. He then stepped out and muttered "Wait…"

Everyone looked at Ganondorf.

"I found Yoshi in the control room, head. I have no idea what happened to him, but if what you said was true, then Master Hand could of murdered him too." Ganondorf spoke out.

Everybody gasped.

Master Hand pointed at Ganondorf. "YOU! YOU MUST BE THE MURDERER!"

"What? Why me?" Ganondorf stuttered.

"THE CONTROL ROOM IS SAFELY HIDDEN, ONLY YOU MUST OF KNOWN WHERE IT WAS!"

Roy stood up and slammed his fist on a wall.

"No, Pikachu attacked me!" Roy screamed. "He also told me how he was messing with the controls, he intended on murdering Yoshi, and he was going to kill the Ice Climbers himself. He set the controls to where they would fall in a room and die!"

Master Hand raised his palm and clenched it into a fist. "Guards!" He screamed. "TAKE THAT RAT TO THE DUNGEONS IMMEDIATELY!"

Pikachu was soon thrown into the dungeons. His back ached more then anything as he screamed "I DIDN'T DO IT!"

The doors slammed shut as Pikachu once again screamed "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"Of course you didn't." A deep, raspy voice said. It was half human, half dead. Pikachu looked around.

"Wh-who's there!" Pikachu screamed.

Pikachu gasped when a shady figure appeared in front of his cell. He gave out a raspy voice.

"Like a mouse trapped in a cage, so what do you plan to do now?" The shady figure asked. "You are probably going to rot in this cell, and you will die. But I offer a present to you."

"What do you want?" Pikachu asked in a shivering tone. He had never felt more scared in his life. "What kind of gift?"

The shady figure revealed a gun in his hand. "I offer you death."

Pikachu freaked out and began to run around in circles. There was a loud crack and pain erupted in his right leg. Pikachu screamed in agony.

"You fool, I offered a quick end to your miserable life." Another crack of the gun and Pain erupted in Pikachu's left leg.

Pikachu saw the blood everywhere. His leg was covered in pain and blood.

The shady figure cracked up laughing and shot a bullet in Pikachu's shattered kneecap. Pikachu continued to scream until he choked on the salty taste of blood. Pikachu laid on the ground in pain.

He then realized the bullets were not lead.

"That…Gun…" Pikachu coughed up a glob of blood. His breathing was tense, and shaky. "That gun…Belongs….To…"

Many more shots were fired, and soon, Pikachu was propped up against the wall.

"One more bullet left." The raspy voice said. "I shall give you the pleasure of spilling out your last words now."

Pikachu muttered one word, and one word only. "Fox…"

The bullet was fired, which lead to the walls behind Pikachu to be splattered by pieces of Pikachu's brain.

Author: Alrighty, I have written another chapter. So who is the murderer anyway? Well, many more chapters are to come, and now that I have stalled you all long enough, it's Royal Fanatic's turn. Please review, and be nice to us, please?


	9. Chapter 8

**Crud…I mean, hi! XD Well, looks like I'm up for the second time!**

**Falco: Yup! So, who's next on the hit list?**

That something I (and the other fellow collab authors) know and you and the readers to find out!

**Falco: You stink! XP**

**So do you.**

**Falco: Really?**

**Kidding. So, how about we get that chapter started? Away chapter eight!**

"PIKACHU WAS INNOCENT!" Was all anyone could hear after Master Hand forced Pikachu into the dungeons. Pichu had a nasty bone to pick with the glove, and he made sure to let it be known.

The small mouse had ran down to the dungeons a little after waking up, and he found himself staring at the sight of his best friend soaking in his own blood and heaven knows what else.

It scared Pichu; completely. And he blamed Master Hand for it.

"HE DIDN'T KILL ANYONE! HE DIED HIMSELF!" Pichu shouted, small teardrops forming in his eyes. "HE'S DEAD NOW, AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"Pikachu's dead?" Bowser asked, turning to Fox, Falco, Islode, and Mario. The former three shrugged, but Mario nodded. Bowser glared at the plumber. "Care to explain why you didn't let us know?"

"Pichu woke me up," Mario replied. "How the rest of you managed to sleep through his yelling is beyond me."

"What's going on?" Islode asked.

"Guess we can't keep you out of the loop for long, with Pichu screaming murder," Falco replied, sighing. "Somebody's after us; every smasher that loses his match ends up getting killed."

"That's terrible!" Islode cried. "That must be why my dad didn't want me to come…"

"So Albrecht knows about what's going on?" Mario asked.

"Yes," Islode replied, nodding. "I overheard him shortly before I came here; he said something about someone after you guys, although I didn't understand what he meant at the time. He also said something about Master Hand and imprisonment."

"I bet Albrecht yelled at him!" Falco cried triumphantly. "And if we let him know that Master Hand got Pikachu imprisoned, then he would get it!"

"I'll go tell Pichu," Mario said. "Pichu was the closest to Pikachu; he deserves to be the one to get Master Hand in trouble."

"That's good and all, but now what?" Bowser asked.

"We head to the dungeon, that's what!" Falco cried.

"Wait a minuet…since when were you a part of the investigation?" Fox asked, eying Falco suspiciously.

"Uh…b-because I now realized the team needs my super brain and sleuthing!" Falco replied, puffing his chest out. "And besides, someone has to make sure the lady Islode is okay, since you guys will be too busy looking at the…gross stuff."

"The gross stuff?" Fox asked. Islode let out a helpless giggle. "…whatever you say."

"Then let's get to the dungeon!" Bowser said impatiently. "Come on!"

As the team headed for the dungeon, Pichu was in Albrecht's office, ratting Master Hand out.

"Pikachu was imprisoned?" Albrecht asked. "I told Master Hand not to imprison any more smashers!"

"Don't forget Pikachu died too!" Pichu cried. "It probably wouldn't have happened if Pikachu wasn't trapped!"

Silently, Albrecht thought that that wouldn't have been the case, but he nodded all the same. "It seems Master Hand has been ignoring his superior for far too long. Thank you for telling me Pichu."

"No problem!" Pichu said, smiling. "Make sure Master Hand gets it good, okay?"

"Of course," Albrecht said, giving the mouse a small smile. Pichu scampered off, glad that Master Hand would finally get what he deserved. After closing his office door, his smile became a simple small smirk.

In the dungeon, Bowser, Fox, Falco, and Islode couldn't help but stare helplessly at the disgusting scene upon them.

"The question is how he died," Fox said, walking forward. He knelt besides the lifeless mouse, ignoring the blood and…other liquids that pooled around the body. "…it seems he was shot."

"A gun?" Islode asked.

"…looks more like a laser blaster than a regular bullet," Fox replied.

"That's not good," Falco said. "You said your blaster went missing before the last match, didn't it?"

"I did," Fox said. "If this is made known, I'll be suspected for these murders."

"Well, at least that'll stop them from staring at me," Bowser muttered. Both humanoids glared at the koopa. "I'm joking. Joking. The secret's safe with me."

"Falco! Get your feathered butt up here!" Mario's voice shouted, coming from the entrance of the dungeon. "We got our battle in two hours!"

"Geez! We still got two hours!" Falco shouted. "I'll be up!" He turned to the other three. "Looks like I got to get ready for my battle; although an hour's just too long."

"How long does it take?" Islode asked.

"I'm ready for battle anytime!" Falco said triumphantly. "Even when I fall asleep!"

"That's so cool!" Islode said, smiling. "You must be a good fighter."

"You'll see my battling prowess for yourself soon!" Falco boasted, puffing his chest out. "But wait…what if your dad sees you here? What'll he say about it?"

"He'll scold me, but I won't leave," Islode replied. "Not with the situation like this; I want to help."

"Any help will be appreciated," Bowser said, as Falco jogged out of the room. "Now, let's go find Zelda and the Climbers; perhaps they'll also be able to help. We still need to find clues to pinpoint Master Hand to the crime."

"I hope he gets in trouble for locking up Pikachu," Fox said. "I mean, Roy was feeling sick; maybe he dreamed Pikachu trying to kill him."

"But he wasn't in the medical facility, remember?" Bowser said. "Master Hand asked him where he was."

"Does Roy sleepwalk?" Islode asked. The other two shrugged.

"That's possible though," Fox muttered. "I mean, I don't know, but maybe."

"Let's ask Ganondorf where he found the Control Room, and start looking in there," Bowser said.

"Do you think Ganondorf could be the murderer?" Fox asked. "I mean, he did find Mewtwo, remember?"

"It's possible," Bowser replied slowly. "But who are we going to think did this? Master Hand or Ganondorf?" Fox didn't reply. "Yeah, I guess it wouldn't hurt to be cautious, but we're trying to find clues here."

"Let's look for Ganondorf, and hear his side of the tale fully," Islode suggested. "After that, we can continue our search."

The three nodded, and exited the dungeon.

Back in Albrecht's office, a very upset Albrecht was confronting Master Hand.

"I specifically told you NOT to imprison any more smashers!" the German yelled angrily.

"Where did you hear that?" Master Hand asked, sounding confused.

"Don't play games with me!" Albrecht shouted, banging his fist on his desk. "Pichu told me of what happened. Everything that had happened."

"Did he truly tell you "everything"?" Master Hand asked. "I had proof! Roy told us that Pikachu planned on killing him and the Ice Climbers!"

"For goodness' sake Hand! The poor boy was unwell!" Albrecht shouted. "He could've been delusional! Or he could've been dreaming! Ever think of that?"

"But—"

"No buts! I told you not to imprison any more smashers unjustly, and you chose to ignore me. Don't sigh like that!" Albrecht added, after hearing the glove sigh. "If Roy had been well, I would agree, but damn it, the boy was sick! I will run this tournament myself!"

"How can you do that?" Master Hand asked angrily. "_I_ am the one running this tournament!" He turned and floated out of the room.

"So you think…" Albrecht muttered darkly. "So you think…"

"Remind me why you had to call me up here two hours before we had to begin?" Falco asked angrily, stretching.

"Well, if you'd been around Islode any longer, I doubt you would realize the damned time!" Mario snarled. "You have a freaking match; stop going around flirting!"

"It's not my fault she's so cute!" Falco said. "Unless you're just jealous she listens to me rather than you!"

"Don't be silly!" Mario cried. "I mean, Islode does seem like a good person, and I don't have anything against her, but come on! Grow up!"

"Just because I have a chance at a love life…" Falco muttered. "Fine, fine! You win! Now, shall we have a stretching contest for another hour and a half?"

"Why not?" Mario said in reply, grinning.

"Oh, it's on now!" Falco said, grinning himself.

It was half an hour til battle time, and everyone was getting ready for the Falco Vs. Mario match. All except for one person.

Master Hand flew around his own office, cursing Albrecht. He had good proof about Pikachu! Well, okay, maybe he had a point about Roy being sick…but still!

The glove let out a frustrated sigh, mumbling to himself how he had things perfectly under control…

…until he heard his locked office door slam open. He turned around; only to find no one there.

"What is the meaning of this?" the glove asked angrily.

"You don't deserve to run this tournament," A raspy voice replied. "Your smashers are dying, and locking them away won't do you any good…they will die…one by one…"

Perspiration ran down Master Hand as fear began to rise inside him. He tried to back himself up, but found that fear held his voice tightly.

"What's the matter? Can't even speak?" The raspy voice of the murderer asked. He let out a chuckle. "Ah, the sweet bliss of fear…I've forgotten how nice such an emotion can be."

"G..get out of my office!" Master Hand cried, finally finding his voice. The murderer chuckled again.

"Is that all you wish to say? Very well. Prepare for your fall." Master Hand couldn't even turn away before finding himself pinned to the wall, a giant spike embedded into the center of his had. There were five snaps, and five slightly smaller spikes embedded into each of the fingers. All six pinned the glove to the wall. "You do not deserve to run this tournament. Farewell."

In a matter of minuets, Master Hand was dead.

"Master Hand! Five more minuets til the battle!" Falcon's voice shouted. The murderer let out a third chuckle before vanishing. "Master Hand!"

Falcon entered the room, but could only stare at the pinned down glove.

Fear seemed to have pinned his legs to the ground as a realization hit him.

"Master Hand didn't fight…" Falcon muttered. "Maybe…we're all doomed…"

Feeling came back to his legs, and he ran to Albrecht's office, screaming about the glove's murder.

Mario and Falco prepared for battle, both staring each other down on the Battlefield. But instead of the Announcer crying "Ready? GO!" He shouted something else.

"This match will not commence!"

Both competitors barely had enough time to blink before being teleported away.

**Bowser: And that ends RoyalFanatic's chapter!**

**Marth: Master Hand died…maybe things aren't what they seem after all?**

Bowser: Or maybe it's as the murderer said: MH isn't fit to run the tourney?

Marth: Only the four writers know the answer to that! We apologize for the delay, and also if it's not on par length-wise with the previous chapters.

**Bowser: Review! We'll see ya chapter twelve!**


	10. Chapter 9

BabyGurl here with the next chapter. I won't say much so you can get right into it.

Enjoy!

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**La Belle**

Chapter 9

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The next thing Falco knew was that he was standing back in the tournament room right in front of the portals. He blinked examining his body perplexed by what happened. He was perfectly fine, along with Mario who finally teleported in front of him. Their match was cancelled and the reason being was unknown.

Mario shared a similar expression to the bird as he stepped forward studying the empty room. Falco turned his head, questioning where everyone had gone. He had a strong feeling something had happened. Did another smasher die or was another clue uncovered causing more to the chaotic mystery?

"What happened?"

Falco shrugged. "You're asking me? I was with you, remember?"

" Mama mia something had to have happened." Mario panicked pacing around the room, anxiously.

Falco raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you the brave one?" He questioned. Mario suddenly stopped turning to the smasher. Falco took a deep breath as he headed for the door. "Let's go figure out what's going on."

Mario nodded agreeing as he followed this competitor out of the room.

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"Master Hand is gone! Master Hand is gone!"

That was the only sentence that kept coming out of Captain Falcon's mouth. His heart raced in his chest and sweat beaded down his forehead as his legs continued to run toward Albrecht's office. Master Hand was dead, and it was going to leave the smashers in fear. Falcon was already anxious, because the murderer had finished Master Hand quickly. He didn't have a chance.

Captain Falcon's scream echoed through out the hallway, as he continued to run. Stopping wasn't an option. He passed Zelda on the way just as he let out another scream.

"Master Hand is gone!"

Zelda stepped to the side, watching Falcon pass. "Where did he go?"

Falcon finally stopped turning back to the princess. "He's dead, Zelda."

Zelda's eyes widened as fear was clearly seen within her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head unable to accept the fact given to her.

"What?" She stammered, dropping her hand to her side. "No…"

Falcon nodded, panting. "It's true. I'm going to Albrecht to tell him."

"I'll go too…" Zelda replied. "This is terrible."

Falcon agreed as he continued to hurry with Zelda at his side. The two continued down the hallways silently, for they both were thinking of what's going to happen next. Master Hand was gone, which also caused the mystery to become easier. They were now aware that Master Hand wasn't the one who murdered them. The one thing was still for certain, none of them deserved to die.

The murderer was going to pay.

Falcon and Zelda both reached Albrecht's office and barged right in calling his name. Falcon entered first, with Zelda following close behind. Falcon entered the room but suddenly stopped. He looked over at Albrecht. He held his back to the smashers, before turning to face them. His emerald eyes fell upon Falcon in the middle of the room.

"Mr. Albrecht sir…" Falcon spoke nervously. "Master Hand is dead!"

Albrecht frowned. "Are you sure?"

Falcon nodded. "I saw him, he was impaled. He's dead!"

"What's going to happen?" Zelda question.

Albrecht sighed stepping out from behind his desk. "This is not good. That murderer is not playing around."

"We should call off the tournament." Falcon suggested, he turned looking at Zelda. "We can't risk any more--"

"NO!" Albrecht shouted, surprising the two smashers. Zelda and Falcon both froze at his striking voice as they stared up the older man. Albrecht shook his head, his voice calm. "The tournament will still continue. I will get to the bottom of this."

"Should we tell about Master Hand?" Falcon questioned.

"Everyone has the right to know." Albrecht replied.

"And you're going to be in charge of the tournament, right?" Falcon finished.

Albrecht nodded silently in response. Falcon and Zelda both exchanged glances. "Right now, a battle was stopped. It must continue."

"Falco and Mario's?" Zelda asked, turning her attention back to Albrecht.

He nodded. "Yes. Go find and tell them to continue with the battle."

Falcon and Zelda both nodded and obeyed Albrecht's words as they hurried out of the room in search of Falco and Mario. Their minds were still focused on Master Hand, but also a new worry that developed within them.

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"Marth, where are you going?"

The blue haired prince ignored Peach's call as he continued down the hallways to the medical facility. They had just figured out about Master Hand's death from Zelda, and he wanted to go check up on Roy. Roy was still recovering, and he was starting to get worried about his friend. Things were just chaos at the mansion now. It wasn't safe and anything could happen.

"I'm going to check up on Roy."

"I hope he is okay." Peach explained softly.

"Me too. So much stuff is going on right now."

The two turned the corner heading closer to the facility.

"Do you think Pikachu really is the murderer?" Peach questioned.

Marth shrugged and sighed deeply. It was silent for a moment, and only their footsteps were heard walking down the hallway. He turned his head to Peach. "To many people are being accused."

Peach nodded. "You're right. It's insane."

"I'm not really ready to point fingers, right now." Marth turned his head back as they reached the medical facility.

He opened the door and stepped inside looking around at the empty room. Peach's eyes widened as she and Marth both looked around the room. Marth's blue eyes fell to the bed where Roy was supposed to be lying. It was empty. The white sheets were thrown to the floor and the pillow was hanging off the edge. A half filled glass of water sat on the nightstand next to his bed, with the remote to the TV.

Marth stepped over to Roy's bed perplexed. He sighed deeply. It was the second time Roy left the medical facility. What was his excuse this time?

"Where is he?" Peach questioned.

Marth sighed deeply. "I don't know."

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"Ready!"

Falco stood back on the battlefield listening to the announcer's voice. The time has finally arrived. He was ready for this battle, just as much as Mario. It was a battle between winning and losing. Life and death.

"Set!"

Mario blinked as he hunched over getting ready. He stared at Falco who waited on the other side of the battlefield. It was their moment and even though they weren't fighting to the death, death was on the line.

"GO!"

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Fox hurried down the hallways in search of Ganondorf determined to get some answers. He was followed by Bowser and Islode, who accompanied him in the search. Ganondorf was one of the suspects for murdering the smashers. He was one out of the many who were accused. The only way for them to get farther into the investigation is to start focusing on certain smashers.

Right now that was Ganondorf.

The three located him in the dinning hall just about to leave. Luckily they had reached him in time. Fox sprinted by the tables calling out Ganondorf's name. Ganondorf stopped and crossed his arms, watching the two smashers and Islode walk up to them.

His golden eyes glared down at Fox. " I didn't know I was so popular. What do you want?"

"We want to ask you some questions." Fox replied.

Ganondorf shrugged. "About?"

"Mewtwo and the control room!" Bowser spat.

Fox nodded. "A lot of things. You are accused of murdering the smashers."

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow, chuckling. "Heh, so I finally joined the group."

"It's no laughing matter." Islode placed her hands on her hips.

"Don't be pointing fingers at me." Ganondorf explained sternly. "Just because I located Mewtwo's body doesn't mean I killed him."

"But how did you know where he was?" Fox questioned.

Bowser agreed. "Yeah, how did you know where he was buried?"

"I had a dream about it." Ganondorf answered truthfully.

Islode seemed surprised. "A dream?"

Ganondorf nodded. "Yeah. If I really did kill Mewtwo. Do you think I would seriously uncover him?"

Bowser lifted a finger. "But you could have done that to cover yourself up."

Ganondorf frowned. "You are pathetic."

Fox sighed deeply. "What about the control room?"

"What about it?" Ganondorf replied back.

"Master Hand said the control room was hidden. How did you find it?"

"I found it on accident." Ganondorf explained.

Bowser snorted with a laugh. "Accident?"

"You don't believe me?" Ganondorf faced the large lizard.

"Where did you find it?" Islode quickly asked before more trouble started.

"Through a white screen. It was located behind a picture on the wall." Ganondorf faced her. "A picture of Albrecht."

Fox frowned as he lowered his head. "That's strange."

Islode nodded, agreeing with the young fox. "It is. Do you think my father knows?"

Fox shrugged about to speak but the back door opened causing Popo to run in. The four turned and watched as the young boy hurried over toward the group with fear across his face. He stopped behind Bowser catching his breath from the search.

"What's wrong?" Bowser questioned.

Popo lifted his head and turned to Fox. "Fox, you need to come quick."

"Why?"

"Falco lost his match."

---------------------------------------------------

Falco slammed his fists against the sliding glass door, causing it to rattle. He sighed deeply opening it, and stepping out to the back side of the mansion. He lost his match against Mario. He was disappointed, mainly with himself. He knew he owned that game easily, but how did Mario end up beating him? It was impossible. Falco knew he was stronger than that.

He closed the sliding glass door behind him and headed down away from the mansion. He listened to his feet drag across the grass as he continued to think about what happened. Today was surely not his day. First Master Hand was found dead and now he lost his match. What would Islode think if she found out about his loss? He would seem weak to her.

Falco walked down the small hill behind the mansion and stopped in front of the woods. He lifted his head, feeling the breeze greet his body. His mind was too busy focused on the fact that he lost that he failed to realize something important. It didn't finally come to him until he noticed he wasn't alone.

"Falco…" A raspy voice called out.

Falco felt his heart drop. "Who the hell is here?"

"Someone important to you."

"Who?" Falco shouted. He suddenly remembered. "We're on to you. I know why you're here and let me tell you I'm not going to fall for it."

The voice was heard laughing. "Well now. Let's see if you expect this."

Falco raised an eyebrow perplexed. He stood still trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. Soft movement was heard coming from behind, causing Falco to swiftly turn. He didn't get much time to search the woods for the voice before he heard a quick weapon being fired. The next thing he knew, pain developed inside of his right leg. It didn't take long for him to realize he had been hit.

Falco grunted as he fell to his knees. He lowered his head at the arrow that pierced his leg. Falco felt the blood trickling down his leg as he tried to remove the arrow. The pain only increased with each struggle. When he thought it was over, he heard the same noise. Falco looked up only to be greeted by another arrow, this time hitting his chest.

"Damn!"

Falco fell to his back as the pain doubled. His heart throbbed and his breathing became heavy. He tried to pull the arrow out, but they continued to come. More and more arrows dug their way into his skin, causing him to scream. Eventually the arrows had stopped, as they covered his body. One was dangerously close to his heart. He managed to pull out a few, but the blood began to soak his clothes.

"Falco Lombardi is no more…" The voice exclaimed.

Falco leaned his head back as he reached for the arrow closest to his heart. He used the remainder of his strength to try and pull the arrow out, but found he was too weak and the pain was unbearable.

"Fox…Islode…"

Eventually, Falco had taken his final breath.

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**Author's Notes:**

Ta-da!! Another chapter completed and over with. Yay!! I'm still glad that even with my broken laptop I am able to write, so thankfully you guys didn't have to wait too long. Heh.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Until Next Time!


	11. Chapter 10

Thought we forgot about this, didn't you?

Over our graves. Here's the next chapter.

As you can imagine, rehearsals for _Hansel and Gretel_ are well under way. The rest is obvious. However, this summer there may also be a chance that I get to run off to the Festpeilhaus over in Bayreuth, Germany for the Wagner festival! Even better, I might have the chance to play in a youth thing over there where we perform one of the operas! Whee! First the student, then the master, eh?

My school orchestra gets to skip the district adjudications this year! We forgot to turn in some things on time, so we don't have to sit through something that a shitty orchestra would do good on waiting for the bored crowd to be wowed by something! Whee!

Oh, and BBC Music magazine just named _Wozzeck_ one of the ten most influential operas in history. Being the big _Wozzeck_ fan that I am, you can imagine how happy that makes me.

With the music scene, it can't seem to get any better for me. Unless they turn me down at Bayreuth.

So with that, I give you the next chapter of this story. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 10

Bowser sat in his bed, thinking.

Way too much had happened the day of Mario and Falco's match for him to process it all at once. He was sitting in his bed for precisely that reason.

Shortly after Popo came in with the news that Falco had lost his match, Zelda ran in and announced that Master Hand had been killed. Bowser figured that this meant that Master Hand could not have been the killer, since he would not and could not impale himself six times with spikes. Thus, the position of 'prime suspect' was pinned on Ganondorf.

Since they had to look at Master Hand's body to figure out if it was a suicide to clear his name, they were not in time to save Falco. Marth and Peach had been walking outside of the mansion looking for Roy when they found Falco's body with twelve crossbow bolts embedded in his skin. Isolde was still sulking in a small part of the basement where the bodies had been stowed until a funeral could be arranged.

Bowser also went to Roy's room to check Marth and Peach's testimony; however, he found Roy asleep in his bed. Bowser felt that Marth and Peach had lied to him, but he decided not to blame them since there was too little proof against them.

The investigation group had also asked Albrecht to cancel the tournament. However, Albrecht gave them a very hard time, with his philosophies of 'once you start something, you should finish it' and other things similar to that. Bowser grunted as he thought about the fact that they finally lost to his argument.

This led to Bowser sitting in his bed.

A tear formed in Bowser's eye as he thought about his son, Bowser Jr. Bowser had made a promise to his son that he would return with a trophy and some other tidbits that would come with victory in the tournament. However, Bowser knew that more was on the line if one lost. He knew that he would look like a failure in his son's eyes, but now he also knew that he would be killed if he lost.

Bowser wondered if he would ever see his son again in his life.

As he thought about this, Bowser suddenly realized he still had the postman.

The king of the koopas jumped off of the bed and walked to the desk.

He then got out a sheet of loose leaf paper from within the desk's drawers and began to write.

By the time he had set his pen down, he had written one of the more moving accounts that he had written.

Bowser got up from the desk, sealed the letter in an envelope, addressed it to his son, and went to the postman.

* * *

The letter went something like this:

_**Dear Bowser Jr.,**_

**_I am aware that some of the vocabulary in this letter may be beyond you; however, you are always free to ask what each word means._**

**_This is your father mailing you. I promised you that I would come home with more things than even I can imagine. I still remember you talking about how honored you would feel to be the son of a champion of the world's most well known tournament. To lose would mean to be felt like a failure to one such as you, and thus I know I have to win._**

_**However, a terrifying series of events has occurred that nobody saw coming.**_

**_A murderer is among us. As each competitor loses, that competitor loses not only their reputation, but their life as well. It has been tragic, but right now eight have been killed mercilessly. At the rate he kills, all the losers will have lost their lives by the time the tournament ends. And that is twenty-five lives lost to something as terrible as murder._**

**_I promised I would come home a victor. However, now with my death as my token of defeat, I believe that what I am about to ask you is for the best. It is best for me, and it is best for you._**

**_When you receive this letter, I want you to come to me and the tournament. I am very aware of the danger you would be in to do so, but some people say that you have to take risks to get anywhere._**

_**The reason I want you to come is that I will not want to lie on the ground dying and thinking about the cold letter that my son would be sent when they discovered my body. Then, you would be plagued with the guilt of not being with your father when he died for the span of your life without me. I would never want you to linger on something like that, so I believe this is for the best.**_

**_Words evade me as of how to close this letter without it seeming to be awkward. I really wish that things could have been otherwise; however, wishes for me do not do anything. Sometimes, you must do something to avert a situation._**

_**With love,**_

_**Your Father

* * *

**_

Isolde sat by a coffin in the basement. This coffin had the body of Falco Lombardi lying in it.

The dark paid no heed to her tears. These fell as freely as they came, and they came after every five seconds.

Isolde had been mourning Falco's loss for quite a bit. She, like everybody else who was going through the tournament and the murders surrounding them, was aware that Falco had developed a crush on Isolde. Isolde mourned Falco not because she loved him as well, but because she felt sorry for him in the end. Perhaps if things had been different, then Falco would have made a relationship a reality.

But unfortunately, Isolde knew that no matter what she did, Falco would always lie in that coffin with an unconsummated relationship forever held in his now silent heart.

A set of footsteps sounded in the darkness.

"Are you sure you can stay down here all night?" asked a male voice.

Isolde knew that it was Marth. She knew that he did not want Isolde to be too uncomfortable, but she felt she needed some time.

"I am quite alright," said Isolde.

"Are you sure?" asked Marth. "I would not think it healthy for one such as you to be sitting in the dark. After all, a murderer is on the loose."

"I am not a target," said Isolde.

"I would not care about that," said Marth. "After all, you never know what you can catch in a basement such as this."

It was then that Isolde let out a heavy sigh.

"You care enough, don't you?" she asked.

"Indeed," said Marth.

Footsteps drew closer to Isolde.

"Here," said Marth's voice. "Let me help you upstairs."

"I will not be in need of it," said Isolde. "However, I would like some company."

"You shall have it," said Marth.

Isolde felt a warm hand on hers, and then she was led to the stairwell.

As they walked, Isolde could not help but feel strange by looking at the walls.

"Is there anything funny about the walls that you can notice?" asked Isolde.

"Not particularly," said Marth.

"I don't know either," said Isolde. "However, something is not right about them…"

"Too dark?" asked Marth.

"That may be it," said Isolde.

A chuckle came from Marth's direction. Isolde stiffened immediately.

"Relax," said Marth. "It was me."

"Oh," said Isolde. "You frightened me there."

"It may be nothing then," said Marth. "Come. You should get some rest."

Marth led Isolde out of the dungeons in this way.

* * *

The next morning, Popo woke up with a start. He had a lot to do that morning.

First, he had to go to Fox to wish him luck on his match versus Link that day. He knew that Fox could use all the luck he could get, especially now that lives were on the line for losing. Not that he wanted Link to die, but for him Fox was more valuable than Link was in the investigation.

Second, he had to find his CD player which he had brought to the tournament. For some reason, it went missing in the mess that was the night before. It was quite strange actually: Popo was not carrying it anywhere, and yet it disappeared when he returned to his room.

Third, Popo had to get into the investigation again. Apparently, they were in a standstill, and they needed extra help. Since Popo felt he was part of it, he would help out as much as he could.

That was quite a list for him, being the ten year old child that he was. Of course, he knew that finding Fox and wishing him luck was the first on his list of priorities.

He left his room as soon as he slipped into his blue parka.

* * *

Fox faced Link in the portal that was supposed to take the two of them to their match.

Link brought his arms around in a circular motion, thus stretching out both arms.

"May the best fighter win," said Link.

Fox wanted to add a small portion about life with victory, but decided it was not good, since it would reveal the investigation.

"Smashers ready?" asked the announcer.

The two smashers nodded. The portals took them on a journey to a large fountain.

"Ready?" asked a voice.

The portals brought them to their destination.

"Go!"

* * *

Zelda stood where a ruined picture of Albrecht lay on the floor. She then looked to the spot where it supposedly used to be. Surrounding her was Bowser, Isolde, Mario, Nana, and Popo.

"So, this was that place Ganondorf mentioned?" asked Zelda.

"Yep," said Mario.

"Looks like he punched the frame," said Nana.

"Probably got angry at the murders and took it out on the frame," said Bowser. "Then, his hand went through the wall."

"Right," said Isolde.

"There's something I don't get though," said Popo.

All eyes traveled to the young Ice Climber after this question.

"How do the walls become impermeable one second and semi permeable the next?" asked Popo.

"That is a bloody good question," said Zelda. "My guess that it would be a portal that leads to another dimension."

"I would not know," said Isolde. She walked up to the wall, put her arm through the wall, and waited.

Her arm stood suspended in the white screen for quite a while. Nothing happened though.

"No," said Isolde. "That is not a dimensional portal. Otherwise, it would have sucked me in."

"I see," said Bowser. "I wonder what's inside…"

Bowser was the first one to step into the wall. Isolde and Zelda immediately followed, with Mario, Popo, and Nana coming up behind the group.

Bowser heard a splash as he entered the room from the wall.

"What could that be?" asked Bowser.

"More blood?" asked Isolde.

"No," said Zelda. "It's too loud to be blood."

"Strange," said Nana. "You think it has something to do with water?"

Mario walked to a control panel.

"You mean water in a tank like this?" asked Mario.

Upon saying this, he pointed at a large tank filled with water with electrical probes jutting in.

The group stood dumbfounded.

"He was…" said Isolde.

"…Electrocuted to death…" said Bowser.

"…In a body of water," said Zelda.

"Does that explain some of the blood on this panel?" asked Popo.

"I would not be surprised," said Bowser. "So we know that some of these murders can't be done without the victim being teleported somewhere."

"Would Ganondorf know anything about how to use the controls?" asked Nana.

"Not that I'm aware of," said Bowser.

"So we can assume that he is not really a prime suspect," said Isolde. "So we have no prime suspect now…"

"Interesting," said Zelda. "The murderer has us in a stalemate."

"Indeed," said Bowser. "I guess the only thing to do now is to help the smashers survive."

"Indeed," said Isolde.

"Well, we've seen enough," said Bowser. "Let's get out of here before anybody suspects us of doing anything when we are just looking for clues."

Everybody except Isolde walked out of the room.

Isolde did not walk out because she noticed something about the walls behind the tank that were a little too similar to the walls in the basement…

* * *

Link took a last look at nothing in particular as he sailed away towards his loss.

Fox seemingly had been an easy opponent to defeat, as everything that Link did managed to lower Fox's stock count all the way to one. However, instead of embracing the inevitable, this last stock made him a far better fighter for that match. Link figured that some magical trace had done something, but he had no time to register it; for as quickly as the young fox had been depleted of his stocks, Fox managed to deplete the stocks of the young Hylian.

And unlike Link, Fox had managed to bring Link's stock count to zero.

That meant that Link had lost.

And now, Link was sailing to the end of his match.

He felt the impact of losing just as the announcer shouted "Game!"

Link felt himself in an unwavering blackness. The portal would have picked him up by then, but Link noticed he was still suspended.

The young Hylian wondered why this was when suddenly he remembered Fox and Master Hand mentioning rooms were people were killed.

Link punched the air as he realized something.

_Damn it,_ he thought. _Why did I have to be next in line to be murdered?_

He then felt a light impact as he hit the bottom of something that was definitely not the match lounge.

"Hello," said a somewhat raspy voice.

Link gathered himself together as a dim torchlight illuminated the place he was in.

Link was surrounded on four sides by glass, he was walking on glass, and he saw a glass dome on top of him. The dome had two tubes running through it, and there was a hooded figure standing at a control panel.

"I know what you're up to!" said Link. "I'm not about to go down without a fight!"

"Maybe so…" said the hooded figure's raspy voice. "But I prefer that you do not. After all, the aquarium you are in is designed to usher in water and bring the air out."

"You wouldn't dare," said Link maliciously.

"Oh, I do," said the hooded figure. "I do many times, my friend."

The figure pulled a lever.

Link's heart skipped a beat when he heard the constant splash of water pouring in.

That was when Link realized that he could try to break the glass with his sword.

He turned to see his sword to find that his legendary sword was nothing more than a hilt.

"Nice try," said the hooded figure. "I specifically programmed the portal to make your sword disintegrate. I guess there is—"

The hooded figure was cut off as Link let out a frustrated yell and threw the hilt at the glass.

Upon contact, the glass did not shatter.

"Well, I thought about that too," said the mysterious man at the control panel. "There is no escape for you, my friend."

The water had by this time risen to the level of Link's knees.

Upon hearing this, the young Hylian sank to his knees and covered his face in despair.

The water rapidly rose as Link thought of nothing else but his impending death.


	12. Chapter 11

Author: KILL THE EMPIRE here, finally getting off his lazy ass to write something. Okay seriously, I had major computer troubles off the wazzu, but I was finally able to write something. So I finally present to you:

**CHAPTER 11 OF LA BELLE!**

Bowser had been waiting in the chair for quite some time now. He was bored, and confused, and wondering why the hell he was being summoned to Albrecht's office. Had he figured out about the investigation? Bowser continued to run through multiple inquiries as he recalled the message.

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He was in his room, thinking, when a knock came upon his door. Bowser looked up.

"Come in!" He called. The door opened. "May I help you?" Bowser asked, but became startled at what came in the room. There was a man.

"I have a message for you from Mr. Albrecht." The man said in a deep voice. He had dark black hair running down to his waist and was covered in black. His trench coat was black, the shirt being revealed through the open end of the coat was black, his jeans were black, his shoes were black, and even his socks were black.

But what startled Bowser the most was his pale skin, and wrinkled face.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, his lips cracked an evil smile as Bowser slowly nodded his head. "Then what are we waiting for? You must come immediately."

"Y-You're coming along with me?" Bowser tried not to act scared, but the guy truly did look like a freak in the eyes of Bowser.

"Why, it'd be awfully rude of me if I didn't, now wouldn't it?" The man asked.

"Alright, sure." Bowser slowly stood u p and began to walk with the man. He was silent during the whole trip, he couldn't help but stare at the man, he seemed very cold hearted. The man stopped and turned around.

"Is something wrong? You seem to be acting a little peculiar." The man calmly asked.

"N-Nothing's wrong." Bowser quickly responded as he finally made his way to the office.

"Have a seat." The man spoke calmly. "He'll be with you in a second."

The man walked inside the office as Bowser laid back into the chair to patiently wait.

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"That guy sure was a freak." Bowser told himself as he finished his short flashback. The door soon opened. "Come in!" Was the echoing voice of Albrecht.

Bowser slowly stood up and walked in the office to find Albrecht sitting calmly in his chair.

"You have called me, sir?" Bowser spoke. He had no idea why, but now he was extremely nervous.

"Yes, I wish to speak to you about something." Albrecht had spoken, he seemed angry, but was doing a very good job holding it in. "It has come to my understanding that you have been leading an investigation regarding the recent murders that have been happening."

"What are you talking about?" Bowser quickly asked. Now he was irritated, there was no way he could of known about the investigation unless somebody had squealed.

"You know very well what I am talking about," Albrecht stood up. "What kind of fool do you think I am?"

"Seriously, I have no idea what you are talking about!" Bowser had tried to explain.

"Then how would you explain the camera showing you and many more people, including my daughter entering places I had personally stated was forbidden!" Albrecht had turned red at the face.

"Cameras?" Bowser nearly slapped himself, why didn't he think of that?

"Look! It doesn't matter, I know about your little investigation group, and I don't like you carrying my daughter around and putting her at risk!" Albrecht screamed. "There's only one thing I must ask of you, now."

He walked up to Bowser and jumped to his needs, and clapped his hands as if pleading. "Please! Help me catch this murderer!"

Bowser was very confused. "Excuse me?" He asked.

"My wire frames aren't doing much to help, and I fear if nobody solves this case, we'll all fall at the hands of this evil bastard!" Albrecht pleaded. "Please continue your investigation, and what ever information you find about this guy, please report it to me, immediately!"

"But-"

"And please, I do not want my daughter in any harm, I would prefer it if she would discontinue her services, as it could put her in mortal danger, and if I loose my only daughter, I wouldn't know what to do!" Albrecht sounded very desperate. "So please, leave Isolde out of this, and help me catch this murderer."

"Sir, she wanted to join the investigation herself, I cannot help if she stays or not." Bowser replied. Albrecht frowned.

"Alright, If it's that much to her, I'll allow it, but I warn you, if anything happens to my only daughter, I'm holding you responsible." Albrecht stood up. "Well, I hope you can help me."

"I'll do my best." Bowser said as he left the office. He let out a sigh of relief as he made his way to his room, where Mario, Fox, Popo, Nana, Zelda, and Isolde patiently waited for him .

"So how did it go?" Mario asked.

"Somebody squealed." Bowser said. "One of us told him about the investigation."

They all gasped.

"What!" Fox screamed. He stood up and looked at the others. "Alright, which one of you signed their death warrant! I swear to God when I find out which one of you did it, I'll-"

"Calm down, Fox." Bowser interrupted him. "Albrecht said we can continue the investigation, as long as we keep Isolde out of it."

"What!" They all screamed simultaneously.

"Yeah, and I just got an idea!" Bowser said.

"Wait a second, how does father know I'm helping you?" Isolde asked. "And I am not quitting the investigation!"

"That's what I was about to tell you. And don't worry, you're staying." Bowser assured her. "But here's my idea, there are cameras in the building, right?"

Everyone nodded.

"So why not check the cameras, so we can find out who the murderer is!" Bowser suggested. Mario was the first to stand up.

"That's brilliant!" Mario shouted.

Popo stood up next. "And if what you say is true, then he should let us check the cameras."

"Well, I know one thing," Zelda started. "We can stop suspecting Albrecht."

"Yeah," Continued Nana. "If he was the murderer, why would he let us roam the mansion like this?"

After a few steps down the hallway, Peach came frantically running towards the group. She stopped to catch her breath.

"Hey, Peach, what's wrong?" Mario asked.

"It's Link, I cannot find him anywhere!" Peach cried out.

"Where did you see him last?" Bowser asked.

"Well, he was talking to me, on how he was planning on going out to eat somewhere after his match, but after he lost, I cannot find him."

"He lost his match?!" Popo asked.

"Didn't you guys know?" Peach asked.

"Oh crap, I remember now, I beat him in my first round!" Fox slapped his head.

"Then that must mean…" Bowser bowed his head.

"What's wrong?" Peach asked.

"You guys go along, I'll explain it to her." Isolde said. "Besides, there's something I need to investigate on my own, so go on ahead of me."

"Alright, but meet us back in Fox's room." Bowser said as he rushed ahead.

After they turned a corner, Nana decided it was time to ask something.

"Hey guys?" She started. The rest turned around and looked at her. "What do you think Isolde wanted to investigate?"

"Who knows," Mario shrugged. "Maybe it was something personal."

"Maybe we should of left somebody behind to be sure she's alright." Popo suggested.

"I'll accompany her." A voice called from the end of the hallway that lead to the main office. The others turned around to see Marth standing at the edge of the door. "If you're really that worried about her, I'll make sure she's alright."

"Marth, how long have you been there?" Bowser growled. "And what did you hear!"

"Oh, nothing in particular, just that Isolde wanted to check up on something, and she was going alone, and you were worried about her." He smiled. "It would be my honor as a man of my kingdom to help a lady in need at your humble services."

He made a slight bow as Fox began to snicker.

"Alright, wonder boy," Bowser chuckled. "Just be sure she's alright, because if anything happens to her, Albrecht'll kill me, then I'll wake from the living dead and kill you."

"What ever you say." Marth stood up and walked past them. Fox began to burst out laughing.

"I think somebody has a crush on Isolde." Fox laughed.

"I think somebody's taking advantage of the fact Falco died." Zelda replied. "Asshole."

"Hey, at least SOMEBODY'S there to comfort her." Popo argued.

"I agree, and besides, Marth IS a nice person." Nana agreed. "He gave me a flower once, which was awfully sweet of him."

Fox fell on the floor laughing.

"Shut up!" Nana screamed as he kicked him in a very not nice place. Fox nearly screamed as he began to clutch himself.

"Fox, seriously, I know it's disturbing, but we have important things on our hands." Bowser sighed as he helped the Fox up. "Come on, let's go."

"Hey guys, Donkey Kong and Samus's match are about to start, you think one of us should watch the match, so we can see who looses?" Fox suggested after dusting himself off.

"Thank you for volunteering." Bowser grinned.

"What? No, I meant someone like Nana, or Popo." Fox said with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Why us?" They both simultaneously asked.

"Guys, if it's that big of a deal, I'll go." Zelda called out.

"Alright, go!" Bowser commanded. "And when someone looses, inform us, ASAP!"

Zelda nodded as she quickly made her way to the arena.

"Alright, we're here." Bowser said as he knocked on Albrecht's door. A voice commanded them to enter. The group entered the room to find Albrecht sitting on his chair filling out paper work.

"Aw, the investigation group, how may I help you?" He asked as he looked up. "Hmm, where's Zelda and Isolde?"

"Isolde's with Marth explaining to Peach that Link is dead, and Zelda's at the stadium to see who wins, Donkey Kong, or Samus." Bowser said as Albrecht gave a small nod to confirm it.

"How did you know about Link's death?" He asked.

"He lost the match, remember?" Fox stated. "So he had to of died."

"Oh yes, it was quite tragic." Albrecht gave out a sigh. "He had drowned in a glass full of water."

"Albrecht, we need to see your cameras." Bowser had cut straight to the point. "That is why we are here, perhaps we can find out who the murderer is."

"I'm afraid it isn't that easy." Albrecht had frowned upon saying that. "The murderer had gone through the cameras, he edited himself out."

"What do you mean?" Mario asked.

"All you hear is a raspy voice as you witness the murders." Albrecht sadly stated.

"Hmm, is that the killer's voice?" Bowser asked.

"I'm sure, but the image shows a shadow, so I know the tape was edited." Albrecht said. "Even footage of him going through the impermeable walls, which I checked out. The walls turned solid when I got there, so I'm guessing some type of magic was used."

"Let's check out the footage, just to be sure." Bowser said. Albrecht nodded as he told them to follow him into the camera room.

"Right here is where Link was drowned, all you see his floating corpse." Said Albrecht as the image showed Link's corpse floating around.

"Hey!" Popo called as he pointed to an object next to the glass box. "That's my CD player!"

"Poor Link." Bowser said as he bowed in silence. "He dies because he looses a match, sad."

"Can we see the recording?" Fox asked.

"Sure." Albrecht shrugged as he started to rewind the footage. After rewinding it, he played it. Everybody watched Link throw the hilt of his sword at the glass and gasped.

"Where's his sword?" Mario asked.

"A program designed to disintegrate metal was used so he couldn't bust out." Albrecht said with a frown on his face.

"Drowning to death, wouldn't want to die like that." Fox said as he began to shudder.

"And here's the murderer." Albrecht pointed to a tall shadow that was patiently waiting for Link to drown.

"I like his taste in music." Bowser commented. "Opera…Nice…"

The shadow just got finished saying "There is no escape for you, my friend."

"I recognize that voice." Fox let out a gasp.

"That guy's voice is scary!" Nana said as she clung to Mario's right leg.

"He reminds me of that messenger." Bowser said as he recalled the black haired messenger. "But he's too big to be him."

"It's only a shadow." Fox pointed out as he continued to look at the huge shadow. "That guy's massive."

"Hey can I see some more videos?" Bowser asked.

"Help yourselves." Albrecht said as he stepped aside to let the group look through the videos.

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"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Ness asked.

"Yeah, after we lost Yoshi and Pikachu, I'm not up for this anymore." Pichu said as he continued cuddle up in a small ball.

Young Link, Ness, and Pikachu were at the foot of the basement, planning on going down to search for clues about the murderer.

"Look guys, I heard Marth and Isolde talking about some type of wall in the basement looking the same as the wall where they found Yoshi." Young Link whispered. "So of course we have to investigate!"

"They were also talking about Roy sleeping too much. Why not investigate that before we take on a case as big as this?" Ness asked.

"Or why don't we just find a ball to kick around?" Pichu asked.

"Guys, if you don't wanna come, then don't. I'm still going."

With that, he opened the basement door and headed inside. Ness and Pichu looked at each other before gulping. They were soon jogging down the basement in an attempt to catch up to the boy.

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"GO!"

Donkey Kong and Samus were off. Samus started charging her beam cannon while Donkey Kong jumped out to smash her.

"Wow, this is interesting." Captain Falcon called out to Zelda.

"Yeah, I sure hope they're alright." Zelda said. She couldn't help but close her eyes, knowing one of them was about to die.

Samus used her grapple beam to grab on to the edge. She lunged herself up to throw her beam cannon out at Donkey Kong. He flew back, and was son shot by a ball of huge energy.

Donkey Kong flew off the stage.

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"This basement sure is creepy." Ness whispered to Young Link's ear.

"Are we done, yet?" Pichu asked.

"No, we have to find out what's so important in here that caused the grown-ups to want to investigate!" Young Link called out.

"Why not let them investigate?" Ness asked.

"And hide all the good stuff from us?" Young Link snickered. "Besides, it's not THAT scary down here."

Pichu screamed, which made the two kids startled and turn around.

"BUG!" Pichu screamed as he jumped on Young Link's shoulder.

"Damn it, Pichu! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Young Link screamed.

The three turned around. To their horror, Falco's corpse laid in a casket, starring coldly at them.

"Wow, that thing nearly gave me a heart attack." Ness said as he grabbed his heart. "Come on, man, let's get the hell out of here, I'm all up for playing ball."

"In a second!" Young Link growled. He turned to see a white screen. "What is that?"

He took a step towards it, just then, Ness began to scream.

"No!" Ness screamed. Young Link turned around. "Don't go near it, It'll eat you!"

"Come on, this is way more fun then ball!" Young Link ran excitedly towards the white screen."

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Donkey Kong was on his last stock. It was hopeless, he couldn't win. Samus was two stocks ahead of him, and he felt incredibly weak. He was prepared to go down, but the problem was where would he land after loosing?

Zelda's mouth was open.

"What's wrong?" Captain Falcon asked.

"I don't think Donkey Kong's gonna win."

"Yeah, I think he lost now." Captain Falcon stated. Samus Finally threw Donkey Kong off the edge. "Yep, he lost."

Zelda quickly stood up.

"Where are you going?" Captain Falcon asked.

"I have to go now, see ya." Zelda quickly left the stadium and ran towards the inner mansion.

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"What the hell is this place?" Young Link asked.

"I don't know, but it's all metallic." Ness said in awe.

"Is this some kind of factory?" Pichu asked as he starred up at the ceiling.

The place was lit up by halogen lights, and was given only enough light to view a type of control panel connected to a clear see through area that seemed darken.

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"It was a good match, but I lost." Donkey Kong told himself. "Well, at least I had a shot."

He continued to fall down through the teleportation system, waiting patiently to arrive at the mansion, so he could finally get some rest. But something seemed wrong.

_Hello, stupid primate…_

Donkey Kong swiftly looked around, nobody was there. "What the hell was that?" He asked himself. He could of sworn he heard a deep, raspy voice. But nothing was there.

_My, my, you seem confused…_

Donkey Kong realized the voice came from within his head. He continued to look around as he screamed "WHO'S THERE!"

_I wish to conduct a small experiment, my furry little friend…_

"Is that why you're doing this to me?" Donkey Kong screamed. "I WILL NOT TAKE PART IN THIS! LET ME GO!"

_I want to see what happens to a stupid primate when it experiences deep, agonizing pain…_

Donkey Kong landed safely on the ground and noticed everything dark, but he was about to see. He looked down to see the room he was in was full of holes large enough to fit quarters down upon them.

He began to quiver in fear. His jaws were shaking, his spine tingling, he had a bad feeling he was about to die. He was now too scared to even speak.

The last thing he heard, was a small crackling laugh.

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"Are we done yet?" Pichu asked. "I'm ready to leave."

"Oh come on, you babies!" Young Link called towards them.

Ness began to shriek out in horror. The two turned around and began to shriek at the site. The dark clear glass began to burst into flames. Screams were heard coming from the box.

Donkey Kong felt total agony as the flames surrounded him. He ran around the area, screaming in pain as he began to see total red. He looked at his hands and was the bubbling blood soak his arms. He knew he had to get out of there. He saw something on the other side of the glass and ran over there

Young Link, Ness, and Pichu shrieked even louder as a huge crash was made from the box. They saw the bloody paw begin to bang on the glass. They finally found out the paw belonged to Donkey Kong, and shrieked even louder.

Donkey Kong wanted it to end, he rolled around, but it worked to no avail.

The sighed of Donkey Kong's face was haunting to the three kids. They could only stare in horror as they watched Donkey Kong's flesh slowly disintegrate and reveal his white skeletal.

Donkey Kong had reached out towards them, as if they held the keys to the fiery cage which he was imprisoned in. Donkey Kong caught site of his now white arms. His flesh was burning off, and he felt every ounce of pain. It hurt, it was never going away, and there was more to come.

Donkey Kong's exoskeleton was the only thing being shown. The vision would scar the kids for the rest of their lives, they knew the site of Donkey Kong burning alive, right in front of them would continue to haunt their dreams for all eternity.

Donkey Kong finally decided to stop struggling. He had no eyelids to close, his eyes were burned out of the socket, all he knew now, was his own physical deformity. He slowly backed up, away from the children, and collapsed, only to wait for his body to turn to ashes, and welcome the eternal blackness.

Pichu fell to the ground, and began to vigorously twitch. Ness and Young Link continued to holler in fear at what happened. Young Link stopped when he noticed Pichu twitching.

"NESS!" Young Link cried out. "PICHU'S TWITCHING! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HIM!"

Ness stopped screaming and looked over at the twitching Pichu. He let out a huge gasp. "I THINK HE'S HAVING A SEIZURE!"

"WHAT SHOULD WE DO?" Young Link asked.

"WE MUST GET HELP, QUICKLY!!" Ness cried.

The two screamed as they ran through the white screen and through the basement until they ran into Marth and Isolde.

"Jesus Christ! What's wrong with you!?" Marth screamed over their voices.

"IT'S PICHU!" Ness screamed.

"HE'S HAVING A SEIZURE!" Young Link finished.

Isolde went pale as Marth quickly ran down the basement. Young Link, Ness, and Isolde quickly followed him.

"Where is he?!" Marth cried out.

"Through that white screen!" Young Link called as he pointed to the white screen. Marth didn't hesitate to run through the screen. The others followed him and saw Pichu on the ground, twitching away.

"Isolde, get help! Quickly!" Marth called. Just then, Bowser, Fox, Mario, Nana, Popo, Zelda, and Albrecht ran into the room.

"There he is!" Fox cried. Nana and Popo quickly rushed in and picked up the twitching Pichu.

"Send him to the healing clinic!" Albrecht commanded. The two ice climbers nodded and quickly took off with him.

"Where did you guys come from?" Marth asked.

"It looks like we came in time." Fox said as he sighed in relief.

"How did you guys know?" Isolde asked.

"We were in the camera room." Bowser said. "Zelda informed us of the victor of the match, and we saw where Donkey Kong had landed."

"Then we rushed over here." Mario said.

"Donkey Kong?" Marth asked. "What are you talking about, Donkey Kong isn't here."

"Wait, Donkey Kong landed in here?" Isolde asked. "Then that means he lost the match."

"Yeah, after the match, I ran over to inform the guys of what happened." Zelda said as she sat down to catch her breath."

"Wait, I'm confused. The only thing I know is those two kids ran out through a white screen in the basement screaming about Pichu having a seizure. Then the next thing I know, the whole mansion comes in here talking about Donkey Kong. What the hell is going on here!" Marth finally screamed out.

"Calm down, we'll explain everything to you later. But first, I want to talk to these kids." Albrecht said as he looked over towards the tear faced children.

"Apparently something happened." Fox said.

"Which means we're too late." Mario groaned.

"Well, let's find out what happened." Bowser said.

"Alright kids, this may sound very hard, but try to explain to us everything that happened." Albrecht said calmly.

Ness continued to sniffle, but Young Link sounded as if he was ready to talk.

"Well, a-at first, w-we wanted to investigate this place." Young Link slowly said between sniffles. "After hearing about some wall from Isolde. We walked through the screen and ended up here."

"And then what?" Albrecht asked.

"And then the box over there. It lit up in flames!" Young Link, with a shaky finger, pointed at the clear box. "And we heard a thud, which scarred us."

"And then what?" Albrecht asked.

"And then…The next thing we saw…Was Donkey Kong, in the glass…He was being burned alive."

"Damn!" Fox screamed.

"That's horrible!" Bowser followed Fox.

"Burned to a crisp…Wow…" Mario shook his head.

"You saw him being burned alive?" Albrecht's face went pale.

"Oh, you poor things!" Zelda bent down to embrace Young Link and Ness. The two continued to cry on her shoulders.

"Well, I say we let Zelda mother those two." Bowser said.

"Bowser!" Fox cried out.

"Look, there's nothing left for us down here. And besides, I think I have an idea on who our little murderer is. But first, I need to see some things on the cameras." Bowser said as he left the room.

"Call me heartless, but I think it's best if we left. I'm going with Bowser." Mario said as he left the room.

"Look, you two go!" Zelda called to Albrecht and Fox. The two just nodded as Zelda continued to embrace to the kids.

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The next morning, everybody had been informed of Link and Donkey Kong's death. Everyone was depressed until the time came for Ganondorf's fight. He was to fight Roy, who seemed wide awake now.

"So sleepy head finally decides to get up." Marth smiled as Roy picked up his sword.

"Yeah, I've been getting head aches from some time now, but today, I feel like a new man." Roy excitedly announced.

Bowser had been looking through some of the footage, but was disappointed to find nothing.

"Hey, you going to watch the match?" Fox asked.

"Nah, I want to re-look over the cameras. Maybe there's a hint we could find somewhere." Bowser replied as he began to crack a smile. "Not to mention somebody ahs to look through the cameras to see where the looser ends up this time."

"Well, have fun with that." Fox smiled as he walked out to the stadium.

"Sure." Bowser said to the invisible Fox.

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Everybody crowded the stadium to sit back and watch the fight that was about to come. While Fox and Mario took their seats, Marth and Isolde were inside the fighter's room, making Sure Roy wasn't going to fall asleep in the middle of the match.

"I won't fall asleep, Jesus Christ, people!" Roy called out with a smile.

"Look, you've been sleep walking recently, and we're worried about you!" Marth proclaimed.

"We're? Don't you mean 'I just wanted to make sure you were okay and decided to drag my girlfriend along?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Marth screamed. Isolde started giggling.

"Alright, if you don't want her, I'll be glad to take her." Roy jokingly said.

"Over my dead body!" Marth growled has he jumped in front of Isolde, and held his hands out, as if protecting her. Isolde continued to giggle.

"Calm down." Roy snickered. "Now look, I need to go, my match is about to start."

"Well, good luck." Marth said as he held his hand out for Roy to shake.

After the two shook hands, Roy went out to the arena.

"READY!"

Roy and Ganondorf shook hands.

"May the best fighter win." Roy said.

"Right…" Ganondorf quietly said.

"GO!"

Roy was the first to move. He jumped in the air, and attempted to throw his sword down at Ganondorf.

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"Hmm, I don't get it, it's obviously he doesn't want to be seen!" Bowser scratched his head. He was angry, none of the film age was working. He angrily threw his hands down on the control panel, which caused the cameras to change to an image of a shaded figure punching a hole through a picture of Albrecht, looking left and right, and walking through a white screen. "Hmm? What's this?"

It then hit Bowser. He knew who the killer was now. He quickly stormed out of the room, and to the battle arena, for Roy was in terrible danger.

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Roy fell on the ground.

"Damn!" He screamed silently to himself. Ganondorf was laughing as he slowly walked up to Roy, picked him up by the neck, and threw him across the stage, once again.

"Come on, fire boy, I know you can do better." Ganondorf seemed confident of his victory.

Roy tried to catch his breath, but soon suffered a blow to the stomach, and a knee to the face. Ganondorf continued to laugh.

"I'm enjoying this!" He growled happily.

"Has he gone nuts?" Fox asked.

"It's as if he was trying to kill him!" Mario called out.

The two looked at each other, and then quickly jumped form their seats, down to the arena.

Ganondorf had fallen off a few times, and was down to one stock, but it was only due to a few minor set-backs, he still had confidence of his victory as he slammed Roy down on the ground by his throat once again.

Roy slowly stood up, and backed up a few inches.

"Have you gone insane!?" Roy called to him. Ganondorf only continued to laugh as he took a step closer towards him.

He punched at Roy, but Roy ducked, and pushed Ganondorf off the edge. Ganondorf fell off the edge, cursing out at Roy.

Everybody was soon back at the mansion. Ganondorf was being held down by Fox and Mario, while Roy was sitting at a corner with Marth at his side, while starring in horror as Ganondorf tried to jump on Roy, but continued to be held back.

"What is wrong with you!" Fox screamed.

"Everybody stop!"

Everybody looked over towards Albrecht and Bowser, who was now walking in the room.

"After looking over the footage, I finally found the murderer!" Bowser called.

"Yeah, we did two!" Fox said. "He's trying to murder Roy!"

"Arrest him!" Albrecht called. Wire frames entered the room and grabbed a hold of Ganondorf. They dragged Ganondorf off as he continued to scream "LET ME GO! I'LL KILL THAT RED HEADED BASTARD! I'LL KILL HIM!"

Author: Finally, sorry for another long chapter, but it felt so good having to write something again! And for those of you who ponder on the question whether I'm a disgusting author or not, let me give you a hint. That death of Donkey Kong, I enjoyed every last bit of it. Well, this was KILL THE EMPIRE presenting Chapter 11 of La Belle, I hope you enjoyed!


	13. Chapter 12

**And now it's my turn…and boy did I take my time, didn't I? Heh heh heh…**

**Falco: Jeez…it's about time we heard from ya!**

**Hey, when you read this chapter, you'll understand! Well, I hope you understand. I had a fun chapter to write, and that's all I'm saying here. But I have to say I'm very proud of it. I must give props to KILL THE EMPIRE; we've many discussions about this, and I have to admit I got quite a few ideas from those conversations. So yeah, he was a big help. Thankies!**

**Falco: That's all from us! Now, away chapter twelve!**

"All rise." Samus stood from her seat, along with the other occupants of the court room. She vaguely wondered what she was doing here. "The honorable Judge Albrecht presiding."

Ganondorf shuffled slightly, scowling as Albrecht walked in and sat down. Samus gave him a small glare, which was successful in removing the scowl.

"You may sit," He said calmly, and everyone did so. "Now, let the trial of the Super Smash Brothers, represented by King Bowser Koopa, against King Ganondorf Dragmire begin."

Samus glanced at the Koopa King, who looked quite smug from the prosecutor's side of the courtroom. She wished that she could've been the one in his place, or at least in the audience with Zelda and the kids, but knew that she was the only one to do this; to be Ganondorf's defense attorney. Albrecht had contacted her, starting out by telling her that all criminals have the right to an attorney, and said that the Gerudo needed one for this trial. Knowing that the rest of the smashers agreed to be witnesses for Bowser, she told him she'd do it.

Next she looked to where Bowser Jr. was standing; the tome the witnesses were to swear on in his hands. The kid had arrived only a few hours ago, and was asked to be the Bailiff for the simple reason being that there was no one else. Upon hearing all he had to do was tell everyone to stand when Albrecht and the Jury came in and swear the witnesses in, he agreed to do it; the paper with what he had to say on top of the tome.

Now Samus allowed herself to glance at the Jury's booth. Seven of the ten chairs were filled; their occupants being Mario, Islode, Fox, Falcon, Marth, Peach, and Roy. All looked attentive; Roy especially. She wondered why that was; maybe all the sleeping in he did cause him to miss out on most the information that had been going around? At any rate, she was relieved to see him looking ready to do his job.

Lastly, the bounty hunter looked to the audience. Zelda, Pichu, Ness, Young Link, and Nana were all in the first row behind Bowser, while a team of wireframes took the first row of chairs behind Ganondorf and herself. A few of the media and fans of the deceased were occupying the rest of the chairs, though how they found out about what was going on, the bounty hunter had no clue, and she was surprised to see Jigglypuff among them, watching with a grave face. The balloon pokemon did look a little sickly, although the bounty hunter thought that was more because of hearing about the deaths of her fellow smashers rather than actually being sick. Samus never felt more jealous of Jigglypuff in her entire life; why did she, Samus, have to be so competitive and proud?

"Will the Prosecution start with their opening statement?" Albrecht asked, making Samus now focus on the trial. She had to be attentive herself; if guilty, Ganondorf would surely die. She was the only thing saving him from death, whether she liked it or not.

However…should she be doing that?

"Of course, Your Honor," Bowser said, rising from his chair. Walking up to the seven members of the Jury, he cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Jury, you see standing before you a koopa who cares about the wonderful gift of life. Ever since this tournament began, ten smashers, and Master Hand as well, have lost their lives. A murderer runs loose among us, and that murderer is sitting over there besides the unfortunate Samus Aran.

"Ganondorf has a history of dark doings, and that he should be the cause of all of this doesn't surprise me at all. Attempting to take over a whole country, the whole world even, and killing, no, slaying mass innocents in order to do so…only he could have the mind to do some of these dark murders; the worse of them, of course, being DK's death not so long ago.

"All the evidence points in his way; and the fact that we have allowed him to continue in his murdering rampage greatly burdens me. But now is the time to stop this for good, lest we all continue to suffer and lose our lives.

"I sincerely hope that you will side with me, and see that he is indeed guilty of these deaths. I sincerely hope also that you will be the ones to end this stream of murders before Ganondorf gets you and I. And finally, I sincerely hope that you help me put Ganondorf to justice, not only for ourselves, but for the ones who have passed away by his hand. Thank you, members of the Jury, for your time."

With a bow, he headed back to his table and sat down. Samus sighed heavily; she had a lot against her.

"Will the Defense now start with their opening statement?" Albrecht asked.

"Yes, Your Honor," Samus replied, standing. Clearing her throat, she walked up to the Jury Booth as well. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Jury, I am here for one reason only: to prove that my client is not guilty of the recent string of murders.

"As a smasher, I fear for my life, and for the lives of the rest of you, but pandemonium and fear have been running too rampant around the mansion, and it may be the reason this trial is even commencing. It is causing us to point fingers at each other, when we should be uniting to rid ourselves of the true murderer. My client was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time, and fear and pandemonium can quickly change that to being the one who murdered everyone.

"I know of what has been happening, yet I believe that everyone deserves someone to help them in the big fight. I will do that, and I will prove to you all that Ganondorf Dragmire is not guilty. It is time we stop, take a deep breath, and use our common sense. Thank you, members of the Jury, for hearing me out."

She sat down, and was a little surprised to see a look of gratitude on Ganondorf's face. Smiling back, she straightened herself and looked at Albrecht. She felt that even with what happened after his match, Ganondorf truly wasn't guilty.

And she was ready to prove it.

"Will the Prosecution call their first witness?" Albrecht asked.

"Of course," Bowser said, rising from his chair. "The Prosecution calls Princess Zelda to the stand."

Everyone observed Zelda as she gracefully rose from her seat, walked over to the stand, and sat down. Bowser Jr. jumped onto the podium, balanced the tome on his right hand, and presented it to Zelda.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you the gods you believe in?" He asked, reading from the slip of paper in his right hand.

"I do," Zelda replied, her right hand on the book. Taking it off, she watched Bowser walk over towards her.

"A few questions for you, Zelda," He began. "Are you aware of the teleportation system our tournaments use?"

"Yes," Zelda replied.

"And what exactly does the teleportation system do?"

"It is a mechanism that teleports us from the battle arenas back to the match lounge of the mansion."

"But did everyone return to the waiting room?"

"No. They were instead teleported elsewhere."

"And did Ganondorf ever teleport elsewhere?"

"No."

"No more questions," Bowser said, returning back to his seat.

"Thank you," Albrecht said. "Will the Defense now cross-examine the witness?"

"Yes, Your Honor," Samus said, standing and walking towards Zelda. "So, all the smashers before Ganondorf have teleported elsewhere, is this correct?"

"Yes," Zelda replied.

"_All_ of the smashers?" Samus asked.

"I'm positive."

"But what about Dr. Mario and Mr. Game and Watch? Isn't it true that they had returned back to the mansion before their deaths?"

Zelda's eyes widened. "That is true…I forgot…"

"And what about Pikachu? Is it not true that _he _didn't teleport after losing his match?"

"Yes…yes it is…"

"Is it also true that Pikachu was accused of being the murderer and killed?"

"Yes…"

"Is it possible, then, that this is the same exact case we saw with Pikachu, except on a more extreme level?"

"Yes…"

"No more questions, Your Honor," Samus concluded, going back to her seat. Zelda was now dismissed from the stand, and the next witness was called. Young Link rose from his chair and walked over.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you the gods you believe in?" Bowser Jr. asked, glancing again at the slip of paper.

"I do," Young Link replied, his hand on the tome. Bowser stood once again and walked over to the Hylian.

"You were present when Donkey Kong suffered his death, correct?"

"Yeah…" Young Link shakily replied.

"I know it'll be hard for you, but I want you to give us a brief description of what happened. Can you do that?"

"Well…we were exploring the basement…and found a strange white screen. When we passed through, we…we saw DK burning to his death! It was horrible!"

The reporters rapidly began scribbling as the fans cried out. Albrecht banged the gavel, silencing the crowd.

"And who could do such a sadistic and terrible death?" Bowser asked.

"G…Ganondorf…" Young Link replied, pointing to the Gerudo.

"No more questions," Bowser said, returning back to his seat. Sighing, Samus stood up and walked over to the stand.

"You say Ganondorf is the only one who can do such a deed, is this true?" She asked.

"Yes. He tried to take over Hyrule, remember? I know he killed many innocents in the same way!"

"You were sleeping in the Sacred Realm during that time. How do you know?"

"The Sages didn't lie to me!" Young Link shouted.

"How do you remember what had happened, anyway? Weren't you returned back to your own time?"

"I remember everything that happened! He did it! I know he did it!"

Samus accepted defeat; she knew she couldn't turn him against Bowser. "No more questions." She sat down, banging a fist onto the desk. Ganondorf glared at the boy as he returned back to his seat.

The next Bowser called was Ness, who, like Zelda and Young Link before him, walked to the stand and was sworn in. The king of koopas calmly walked to the stand.

"Is it true that you and Mewtwo are good friends?" He began.

"Yes. We've always chatted psychically before all this began," Ness said.

"Is it true that Mewtwo might've had some foes that were jealous of him?" Bowser asked. "I mean, he was friendless before the Melee tournament, and then he found a friend in you. Do you think he earned himself a foe because of this?"

"It's definitely something that can't be denied. Yeah, I think so," Ness replied.

"Is it also true that Ganondorf is a warlock?"

"Yes."

"Is it possible he tuned into your conversations, and grew even more jealous, thereby giving him, in his own mind, the right to kill?"

"It is possible."

"And only a warlock of his power could keep Mewtwo contained in such a small place, correct?"

"It was certainly someone with a lot of magical power, if he was able to keep Mewtwo from teleporting out of the coffin."

"No more questions," Bowser said, returning to his chair. Samus stood and walked over.

"You say that someone with a lot of magical power was the one to keep Mewtwo restrained in the coffin, correct?"

"Yes ma'am," Ness replied.

"Is Ganondorf the only one with such power?"

"No…"

"Who else has such power?"

"Zelda."

"Is it possible that she may have been the one?"

"Are you saying Zelda's the murderer?" Ness asked. The princess jumped from her seat.

"I'm not saying that at all," Samus quickly replied. Zelda slowly sat back down. "I am sure Zelda is innocent; as I'm sure Ganondorf is innocent as well. Please answer the question. Is it possible?"

"Sure, it's possible."

"No more questions," Samus said, heading back to her seat. She dared not look at the jury, but curiosity got the best of her, and she chanced a glance.

Mario and Fox were glaring at her and Ganondorf, Islode was watching her father, Falcon, Marth, and Peach appeared to be thinking hard, and Roy still had his attentive look, staring at the now empty witness stand.

The next witness Bowser called was Popo, which made the hunter smile slightly. As Bowser Jr. swore him in, she began reciting the few questions that she was sure would help turn him against Bowser, as she did with Zelda. Bowser stood up and walked over.

"Is it true Ganondorf has been in suspicious places recently?" The koopa asked.

"Yeah," Popo replied, nodding.

"You caught him outside, did you not? Digging up a wooden coffin?"

"Yeah."

"And who was in the coffin?"

"Mewtwo, sir."

"No more questions," Bowser finished, returning to his seat. Samus now stood and began her cross examination.

"You saw Ganondorf digging up Mewtwo, correct?" She asked.

"Yeah," Popo replied.

"And you think he was the one who did it?"

"He had to."

"Isn't that strange though? That the murderer would dig up the one he killed?"

"Uhh…yeah, that does sound strange," Popo replied hesitantly.

"If you were a murderer, would you dig up the one you killed?"

"Objection!" Bowser shouted, rising from his seat and slamming the desk. "What does that have to do with this trial?"

"I have reason to ask it!" Samus shouted. She turned to Albrecht. "Your Honor, this question is important to my examination."

"Overruled," Albrecht said firmly. "Continue Samus."

"Thank you," The hunter replied. She focused back on Popo. "Now, would you?"

"No…"

"It'd draw attention to you, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Did Ganondorf tell you why he was there in the first place?"

"He said he saw the place in one of his dreams…"

"Being a warlock, Ganondorf has much magical power, correct?"

"Yeah…"

"Is it possible that he did in fact see Mewtwo's resting place in a dream? And he decided to explore it?"

"Yeah…"

"No more questions," Samus finished, returning to her seat. Bowser shook in his seat; Popo was the second witness she turned against him. And she did a decent job with Ness too. He had no choice but to place his hope in his final one, Pichu.

The pokemon quickly dashed for the stand, eager to get this over with as soon as possible. After being sworn in, Bowser walked over.

"All the victims had a different way of dying, is this true?" He asked.

"Yes," Pichu replied.

"Only someone with a brilliant mind could think that up, right? Scrambles the clues; makes them less suspicious, right?"

"Yes."

"Pikachu was killed by a laser blaster, correct?"

Fox shifted slightly in his seat. He knew it was his blaster that had been the murder weapon. But he didn't do it! His blaster went missing!

"Correct."

"You were on your way to your own room, were you not, when you went past Fox's?" Bowser asked.

"Yes."

"Did you see anyone there?"

"A tall, cloaked figure. And he had red hair! Like Ganondorf!" Pichu curled up, scared that Ganondorf would attack him. Upon seeing that he wasn't going to be punched, he sat normally.

"Was he holding something in his hand?"

"Yes. It looked like a gun."

"Did you see Ganondorf watching the match?"

"No…"

"No more questions," Bowser said, heading back to his seat. Samus rose, and walked over.

"So, you say you spotted someone holding what looked like Fox's blaster?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Someone with red hair?"

"Yes."

"Is Ganondorf the only smasher here with red hair?"

"No…but he was really tall!" Pichu added, now worried that Roy might attack him.

"I see…" Samus said, sighing. "And are you sure it was Fox's blaster?"

"He came out of Fox's room. What else could he have wanted?"

"No more questions," Samus muttered, heading back to her seat. Glad it was finally over, Pichu dashed back to his own chair in the audience.

"Is that all the witnesses for the Prosecution?" Albrecht asked.

"Yes, Your Honor," Bowser replied.

"Will the Defense now call their witness?" Albrecht asked.

"Yes, Your Honor," Samus replied, standing again. "The Defense calls Ganondorf Dragmire to the stand."

A murmur ran through the audience as the Gerudo stood. Zelda wasn't surprised; she knew no one else would've defended him. She had to admit, thought, Samus was doing a pretty good job. She was starting to question the investigation's evidence, and wondered if fear and pandemonium really were making everyone point fingers at each other...

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you the gods you believe in?" Bowser Jr. asked, at this pointing not even looking at the slip of paper.

"I do," Ganondorf replied solemnly, his right hand on the tome. The hunter took a deep breath and walked over to the stand.

"Now Ganondorf, you were the one who discovered Mewtwo's resting place, right?" She asked.

"Correct," Was the Gerudo's reply.

"And how did you know where Mewtwo was?"

"I saw it in a dream."

"Can you tell us about this dream?"

"I can," Ganondorf replied. "It was dark, empty…then the goddess Din came to me. After all, I bear her piece of the Triforce. She told me of a wrong doing, and sent me to the spot. I dug in the dream, and when I hit the wood of the coffin, it was then I woke up."

"And so you went to see what that wrong doing was, correct?"

"I had nothing against Mewtwo. At all. I was sorry to see him dead. I still am."

"Tell us: you are from a medieval era, are you not?" Samus asked.

"Indeed I am," Ganondorf replied.

"So, are you familiar with the workings of this modern day technology?"

"Only what we were all taught," Ganondorf replied.

"How about the Control Room?"

"Too advanced; I never learned."

"And Fox's blaster?"

"I'm still shaky with the damned Ray Gun; you think I would know how to kill someone with Fox's blaster? In the dark?"

"No more questions," Samus concluded, returning to her seat. Bowser now stood, and walked over.

"So! Just because you convinced Samus that you had nothing to do with Pikachu's and Mewtwo's death makes you think you're not the murderer, right?" He asked.

"I didn't do anything," Ganondorf replied.

"Then explain Yoshi!" Bowser roared. "You found the Control Room! You found Yoshi there!"

"It was a complete accident!" Ganondorf said. "I was feeling angry, and I punched a picture. How was I to know that picture was actually a secret passage way to the control room?"

"There were other deaths in the Control Room as well," Bowser said. "And you are the only one of us who knows where it is! Why didn't you tell us about them?"

"Why should I?" Ganondorf asked in reply. "You would've said I killed them! I know you would have!"

"And what about the cameras?" Bowser asked. "You've been found walking hallways the murderer was!"

"Am I the only one who walks those damned hallways?" Ganondorf asked. "Besides, even if you _think_ I did it, I still don't know how to work those things! How could've I taped myself out if I don't know how!"

"And what about after your match?" Bowser asked. "When you threatened to kill Roy?"

"Haven't _you_ ever got so angry you wanted to kill someone?" Ganondorf asked hotly, glaring the koopa down.

"And besides, who else of us would've been evil enough to bury Mewtwo alive, to throw a knife into Dr. Mario's face, to suffocate Luigi, to impale Mr. Game and Watch, to electrocute Yoshi in water, to shoot Pikachu, to stab Master Hand six times, to shoot Falco, to drown Link, and to burn DK alive?" Bowser asked.

"I…" Ganondorf blinked; he wasn't sure. "I…I don't know…"

"Who else in Super Smash Brothers Melee would do such stuff? And you've done plenty of evil things in your past! Things that even go beyond what _I_ did in my days of evil!"

"I…do not know…" Ganondorf replied again.

"No more questions," Bowser said, turning away and sitting down. Ganondorf copied the koopa's actions, wondering if that had helped him or not.

"Will the Prosecution now close?" Albrecht asked.

Bowser nodded, and rose from his seat. "Ladies and gentleman, in your hands lays the fate of myself, yourselves, and the rest of the smashers. As a fellow among you, I plead with you; find the truth. Find that Ganondorf is guilty. When he dies, so will our fears of dying. He is a sadist man, and will not stop until all of us have been killed.

"I leave the rest to you. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your time." He sat down, and Samus rose to give her ending statement.

"I do not think Ganondorf is guilty. There were many flaws in the Prosecution's evidence; flaws that I hope you saw as well as I did. Yes, Ganondorf had a dark past, but people can change over time. And the past is the past, we cannot change it and it cannot change the present.

"I leave you with this comment: remember Pikachu. Remember a fellow smasher who was also convicted of these foul deeds, and remember the end he had. Thank you for your time." She sat down.

With a nod from Albrecht, the seven members of the jury rose. The murmuring picked up as they left for the door that Albrecht had came in through.

It was a small room; bookshelves lining one side of the room and pictures lining the other side. In the center was a big table, with ten chairs surrounding it. The seven sat down, Mario, Islode, and Fox on one side, Marth, Peach, and Falcon on the opposite side, and Roy sitting on one of the two head chairs.

"Okay, so now we discuss whether or not Ganondorf is guilty," Peach said firmly.

"Discuss?" Mario asked. "I don't think we need to discuss. He's guilty."

"I don't know about that," Falcon said. "I mean, Samus did do a pretty good job of defending him. Okay, let's do this in order. First thing: Mewtwo's death."

"Popo was the one who found him digging Mewtwo up," Fox said. "Ganondorf knew where Mewtwo was? I doubt it was all because of a dream."

"But Samus did make a good point," Marth countered. "If Ganondorf _was_ the one who killed Mewtwo, why did he dig him back up? Doing that would've brought attention to himself."

"And he does have the Triforce of Power," Peach added. "Maybe he doesn't get those kinds of dreams as much as Zelda does, but I think Ganondorf could get one once in a while. And I'm sure Link could've as well."

"But what about all the deaths themselves, as Bowser was so nice to summarize for us?" Islode asked. "And don't forget about Kirby. Who else would've been that sadistic?"

"I have to agree with Bowser," Mario added. "After hearing about Ganondorf's past, I have to say that the Gerudo was a lot more vicious than Bowser ever was."

"How about the Control Room?" Falcon asked. "Even if Ganondorf did do anything in there, where did he learn it? We weren't told how to work the control room."

"The wireframes, perhaps?" Mario suggested.

"And he never told us where it was!" Fox said.

"But we would've thought he did murder everyone, right?" Peach asked.

"I wouldn't have," Islode replied. "And it would've been a great help to the investigation."

"I don't know…the whole thing sounds fishy to me," Marth said.

"And Ganondorf roams the mansion!" Fox said.

"But he's probably not the only one," Marth countered. "There are probably others who desired to find answers, or missing smashers."

"But he was roaming around places where the murder was running around!" Fox said.

"And what about the rest of us?" Falcon asked. "We might've treaded grounds that the murderer passed through as well. I agree with Marth. It sounds too fishy to be true."

"Don't forget Pikachu's death," Roy said. "We have Pichu telling us he saw Ganondorf leaving Fox's room with his blaster."

"And Fox did tell me, Falco, and Bowser that his blaster was missing," Islode said. Fox nodded in agreement.

"But Pichu said the murderer had red hair," Peach said. "No offense Roy, but…you have red hair as well…"

"It could be possible that Ganondorf wasn't there," Roy admitted. "Then again, it could possible that he was."

"Does Ganondorf know how to work Fox's gun?" Peach asked. "I mean, his aim is a little off sometimes with the Ray Gun. And that's with the lights on."

"Lucky shot then?" Mario asked.

"I have to agree with what Samus said though," Marth admitted. "Pikachu was convicted of killing everyone, and was killed afterwards…and now we have Ganondorf convicted."

"There's a difference," Fox said. "This time we actually have the killer! Ganondorf never teleported away!"

"And neither did Dr. Mario, Mr. Game and Watch, and Pikachu!" Falcon countered. "Actually, I don't think Mewtwo or Kirby teleported away either."

"He could've been trying to throw us off," Islode suggested. "He does have a lot of power…maybe he thought of good way of killing everyone, and decided to wait until using it?"

"And those guys were the firsts to die," Fox added. "He's guilty, no matter what anyone says!"

"You're saying that just because you're part of the investigation!" Falcon accused.

"But it's not like we don't have any information at all," Islode said. "I…I have to agree with Fox…and not because I'm part of the investigation. I would rather be safe than sorry…Ganondorf may actually be the one killing everyone off…"

"I agree with Islode, completely," Mario said.

"I'd have to say not guilty," Falcon said. "Samus raised plenty of points showing that."

"I agree with Falcon," Peach said.

"I say Ganondorf's not guilty too," Marth added. "And not only because of what Falcon and Peach are saying…I still remember Pikachu. I don't want another victim killed because he was suspected of being the murderer…"

"That means you're the decider Roy," Mario said. Everyone looked to him. "What do you think?"

Roy frowned as he felt himself tense up. He shielded his eyes, as if a great spotlight was shined on him.

"I…I think…"

It had been half an hour after they left before Bowser Jr. saw the door opening. "All rise."

Everyone stood as the jury walked back to their seats. When everyone sat down, Albrecht cleared his throat.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" He asked.

Roy rose from his seat. "We have, Your Honor…the jury finds Ganondorf Dragmire…guilty of first degree murder for ten members of the Super Smash Brothers Melee and Master Hand."

Ganondorf closed his eyes, his fists shaking as the audience roared. Jigglypuff looked sicker than ever. Albrecht banged the gavel, shouting for order.

Besides the Gerudo, Samus was starting to feel sick. She now felt Ganondorf was innocent…and he was proclaimed guilty. Sighing, she gave the Gerudo a pat on the back. When order was back in the room, Albrecht raised the gavel.

"Ganondorf. For being found guilty, you're sentence is death, by lethal injection," He said, bringing the gavel down.

It was the next day when the smashers found themselves near a window, staring into a white room, bare with the exemption of the execution table and a couple of machines. A pair of wireframes was sterilizing the needles as Ganondorf was fastened to the table by Peach. She was teary-eyed, but knew this had to be done. Watching all of this by the door was Albrecht.

"Do you have any last words?" She asked.

"Yeah. I do," Ganondorf replied. He looked to the other smashers by the window. "First things first: thanks for the aid Samus. I'll give the gods up there a good word." Samus nodded, trying her best not to look the other way. "And if any of you thought I was innocent, well, I'll give them a good word for you guys as well. To the rest of you: well, I'll be rallying the other smashers when I get there, and should any of you die, you'll suffer an eternity of being told 'I told you so!'. Goodbye, and good riddance!"

Peach took a cotton ball drenched with alcohol and gently swabbed the Gerudo's arms. One of the wireframes inserted two tubes into Ganondorf arm while the other loaded the drugs into an infusion pump.

"The two cannulaes, or tubes if you would like, are of course how the drugs enter his body," Mario muttered quietly. "They're connected to an infusion pump, where the drugs are. Only one of the cannulaes is used, the second one is there for back up, you can say. Just in case the first one fails.

"From the pump it'll be injected into Ganondorf, three drugs; one by one. When Albrecht gives the word, that wireframe by the pump will activate it, which will send the drugs to him. They'll be monitoring his cardiac rhythm, or his heart rate, the entire time." He added, his eyes never leaving the machine's screen. The line moved; the beep was constant.

Albrecht gave the nod, and the wireframed turned the machine on.

"The first drug is Sodium thiopental, which will knock Ganondorf unconscious," Mario said. Sure enough, it only took a few moments before the Gerudo was out. His heart rate was still normal. "Then the intravenous injection will go in. In this case, it's a combination of Pancuronium and Tubocurarine, which will stop all muscle movement except for the heart. In other words, the two drugs will paralyze his body. If left for too long, however, Ganondorf would die the same way Luigi did.

"And last but not least is the Potassium chloride, which will stop his heart, and end his life."

Everyone watched the monitor. As time went on, Ganondorf's heart got slower, and slower. After seven minutes, the line was still.

"Ganondorf is dead," Peach said, looking at the smashers. "It is official. He is now dead."

**Marth: And she ends the chapter! Ganondorf's dead! But is that a good thing or a bad thing? O.o**

**Bowser: We'll find out as the chapters continue! Oh, and a little extra something is in this chapter: a mini shout-out to the romance fics that Herr Wozzeck and RoyalFanatic are currently writing. If you caught it, free points for ya!**

**Marth: Makes me wonder how many people are going to ask "Really?" and reread the chapter to see if they can find the mini shout-out. XD Nevertheless, that's all from us. BabyGurl278 takes hold of the reins now!**

**Bowser: A long chapter from RoyalFanatic, but very, very interesting otherwise. Review!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Baby-G **is here with my latest from the story. I'm sorry about the late update, I had many excuses and don't feel like explaining myself.

My author's note is short this time around and I'm sad to say length wise this chapter doesn't match to **RoyalFanatic's. **

Enjoy!

--------------------------------

**La Belle**

Chapter 13

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Silence. Sobs.

It was the only thing anyone had heard in the area as the eyes of the smashers glanced upon the event in front of them. It was a change in history at the moment, or at least that's what it felt like. The execution of Ganondorf ended the madness. It ended the horror, the murders and spirits as well. There was mixed of emotion within the small crowd that gathered in the forest to attend Ganondorf's funeral. Half of which were pleased the evil Gerudo was gone. For them it was a time of rejoice because the mansion was now safe. Of course those who were upset about Ganondorf's death also rejoice because of the new freedom; but they also held sorrow within them. In their minds, Ganondorf was innocent.

Peach Toadstool was one of the few smashers who believed so. She stood in the front row. Her location was near Falcon and Marth, two of the jurors who sided with her on the matter. They watched, as silence overtook them, the coffin holding the late Ganondorf Dragmire. The coffin was already placed in the desired hole waiting to be buried under the earth as Ganondorf now joined the other departed smashers.

Albrecht stood up front facing the group of smashers standing behind the hole where the coffin rested. Bowser and Samus both stood off to the side with shovels ready to finally put Ganondorf to rest. Albrecht was ready to say a few words before the funeral comes to an end. The smashers didn't plan to go all out for the funeral, since he was the murderer who killed ten smashers and Master Hand. They just planned something short and simple. They were all still going to remember him either way. Forgetting the horror and tragic that fell in the mansion was something impossible to move on from.

Peach learned it the hard way but was still grateful she was alive. She felt sorry for all of the smashers who had lost their lives and pitied Ganondorf. She believed that the Gerudo was innocent, but it wasn't enough to save his life. Sure the Gerudo's appearance was evil and maybe he did commit some crimes, but was that enough to force the blame on him? Why couldn't Bowser be put into the hot seat? Of course, Peach had nothing against the giant lizard, but those where the questions that entered her mind and demanded answers.

The Mushroom Princess briefly scanned the group of the smashers as she took her mind and focus away from the coffin. Fox, Roy and Zelda were lined up in front as well, paying their last respects to the Gerudo, even though both Fox and Roy accused him of being guilty. She couldn't really come to any guesses whether or not Fox and Roy had somewhat re-thought about the situation and their final answers. It didn't matter that her friends had different opinions than her. They all were still in it together. The results decided the fate of the one of the smashers. Ganondorf's life had been held within their hands and it was then Peach now understand Samus' feelings.

Peach's fragile azure eyes turned her attention toward the bounty hunter who stood quietly near Albrecht. Samus had fought and argued to save Ganondorf's life. She was more responsible for saving him, because she was the one chosen to prove his innocence. Out of all the smashers, she was the one who showed that she cared for another life other than her own and Peach admired her for that. Although she also pied the failure that Samus endured. The bounty hunter expressed a strong calm look, obviously to hide the grief. Peach saw it within her. The dismay of failing to save another life. It was something that was going to take a long time to move on from; a long time to finally accept.

"We are gathered here today to say good-bye to a smasher who was once one of us, a competitor and a friend." Albercht began with his short speech. "But he was also the one we feared and hated. Ganondorf Dragmire was convicted of eleven murders here at the mansion, one including Master Hand himself. His actions have been put to rest and his crimes will no longer be committed. We now say good-bye to a smasher and murderer. We now try to move on from the pain and anger, and with this new fall we become stronger as one." Albercht paused as his eyes scanned the crowd. "Would anyone like to give a their last respects?"

The smashers began turning their heads to each other, thinking of something important to say in front of everyone. Whispers and murmurs began to fill up the forest. Peach was the only one who stood quiet. She thought and thought until something finally came to mind. Though she regretted it, she took a stand and stepped forward.

"I do." She spoke.

Albercht looked down at her and nodded stepping out of the way. Peach walked forward and turned facing her fellow smashers and friends. "Most of you think Ganondorf is evil, which was one reason why he was accused of being the murderer. Just because some people may seem evil, doesn't mean they always are. I believed Ganondorf was innocent and I'm not afraid to say it out loud. Ganondorf was one of our friends and he was considered a fellow smasher. He fought in this competition with the same amount of pride and courage like all of us. One incident leads to a huge problem and eventually everyone was put in the hot seat of being accused. I pity Ganondorf and I give my gratitude to Samus who fought to keep him with us. But what would happen if everything turned around?" Peach briefly paused as everyone began to face each other. "How would everything changed then? That's what keeps entering my mind. Ganondorf will be missed whether he was good or bad. Just remember that. He wont be forgotten; and he never will."

Peach ended her speech there as she took one final look at the coffin next to her. With everyone pondering over what she had spoken, the mushroom princess quietly left center stage returning to her position within the crowd.

------------------------------------

"So everything is finally over..." Islode ended her sentence there as she silently continued to think.

Fox crossed his arms as he turned his head to Ganondorf's grave. His coffin was now buried and the funeral had ended. He, along with a couple of other smashers, remained at the grave site within the forest. Most of the other smashers retreated back to the mansion in the distance with a new relief within them.

"I guess so..." Fox spoke softly. He chuckled turning back to Islode and Roy. "It's hard to believe so."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

Fox shook his head. "I don't mean it in a bad way. I'm glad it ended, but I'm surprised it had ended so soon."

Bowser laughed as he leaned up against one of the trees. "We're just that good."

Mario who was sitting on a log lifted his head the small group. The temperatures had suddenly began to drop as the sun was now setting hidden behind the low clouds in the sky. A couple of lanterns and the lights from the mansion had lit the area. Usually if the murderer was still about, most of them would have retreated back to the mansion. With Ganondorf now put to rest in his grave, the smashers found no reason to be afraid anymore. Hiding was not an option.

"So what's going to happen now that Ganondorf is dead?" Mario questioned. "Did Albercht say anything?"

Islode shrugged. "I don't think my father did."

Bowser walked up to the group. "I think we're going to just continue with the competition."

"Really?" Mario questioned.

Fox nodded. "If we continued with it while Ganondorf was roaming free, why would we stop now that he's dead?"

Mario shrugged. Fox did have a point. "You are right..."

A small bit of silence formed in the area, as a gust of wind blew through the forest. The tips of the trees swayed back and fourth as the leaves brushed against each other. Islode shivered as she looked around the area. Fox ignored the howling wind as he stared at Ganondorf's grave. It was over. He was finally able to admit to that. He was content Ganondorf had died. Now all of the smashers who had the same fate, were avenged. Ganondorf now joined them in the afterlife, he was now considered another departed smasher.

All that was left was to end the competition.

"I'm heading back, guys." Islode explained as she began to follow the trail. "I'm getting cold."

Roy nodded in agreement. "I'm with you. Later guys."

"Bye." Mario waved as the two disappeared within the forest.

Bowser walked up to Fox giving one last glance at the coffin. He took a deep breath as he turned following the dirt road leading back to the mansion.

"I'm turning in for the night. It's been crazy week."

Fox and Mario both turned facing the mansion, when a faint yell echoed into the forest. The three smashers suddenly stopped in their tracks as footsteps were heading in their direction. Fox ignored the rapid beating of his heart, telling himself over and over again that Ganondorf was dead. No more murderer was free to continue to kill.

"Who is that?" Mario questioned.

Bowser huffed. "Probably Roy unsure of how to get back."

Bowser was correct that it was smasher heading in their direction, instead of it being Roy it was the young Ice Climber Nana. She panted as she ran through the forest toward the three smashers. Mario and Fox both walked up to the young girl, curious as to why she would track through the forest alone. Her face was flushed and held her chest as if it burned from the run.

"What's wrong Nana?" Fox placed his hand on her back.

"I just thought of something." Nana explained. "Ganondorf is dead...by us."

Fox and Mario both nodded. Nana was part of the few who didn't attend the funeral, but she was well aware that Ganondorf was killed. Mario seemed puzzled by what she pointing out. "Yes, what does it have to do with anything?"

"Weren't you the ones who pointed out that the murderer kills the smashers who loses?" Nana cried as her eyes switched back and fourth from Fox to Mario.

Fox remained silent as he began to ponder her question. Mario was quick to answer. "Yes..."

"Did you guys forget that Roy won the battle?" Nana questioned. "Ganondorf had lost..."

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**Author's Note:**

Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Like I said, it wasn't long but length isn't always an issue.

Now the man with the plan is up next. It's **Herr Wozzeck's **turn.

Until Next Time!


	15. Chapter 14

Sorry for the crappy first version! The damn internet screwed the initial posting of the chapter. Now I have to stick with this, so you know where that leads. 

Anyways, I made it into EMF! I'm hoping to have a great time (and hopefully play the Mahler 1st depending on how my seating audition goes when I get there), but this means that I won't be available to write chapters from the end of June until the end of July. I can't post any body else's chapter, either, so don't expect anything during the month of July. 

I use strong language in this chapterr (I say the F-word six times, to be precise). Don't say I didn't warn you, because I did. 

And that's all, folks! Here's the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 14

"Damn it! I have to look through the tapes again!"

"Bowser, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Fox, I found evidence in this one tape of Ganondorf punching a frame and walking into one of those white screens that are all over the place! If what Nana said was true, then I must have been wrong about it all! For that reason, I have to check the tapes all over again!"

The sound of cassette tapes being shuffled around in a box dominated the scene.

Bowser and Fox were rummaging through the security tapes for the first time since the trial. Nana's words had scared the two investigators so much that they were searching for anything to prove or disprove Nana's statement so that at least they would be certain that something was going on.

The Koopa king in particular was shocked. This meant that if the evidence found by the investigation he had started was not correct, Bowser and a few others would have let down ten, possibly eleven innocent souls that left the earth before them.

Bowser was looking for the tape that showed Ganondorf punching the picture of Albrecht. The tape had been labeled "GanonRoom" since the camera was in Ganondorf's room when it had shot the footage. For some reason, though, it was not at the top of the pile of security tapes that had since been put in the basement for storage.

Finally, though, the flashlight Bowser was holding in his hand found the tape, and Bowser lifted it up.

"Here we are," said Bowser. "Here's the tape with the evidence. Fox, the TV is set up, right?"

"Yep," said the young pilot as he backed away from the TV that the two of them had miraculously gotten to the basement in spite of the lack of stairs. The screen was a blue beacon in the sea of partial darkness that was the basement.

"Good," said Bowser.

He then walked up to the TV and inserted the cassette tape inside the VCR player that was plugged into the TV. It automatically played to where Bowser had cued it before the trial in case any evidence was needed against Ganondorf if the court was adjourned before a decision would have been made (which, oddly enough, it was not so). It showed the familiar clip of Ganondorf punching a picture of Albrecht, look around the room, and walk into the white screen.

Nothing much happened after that. Bowser went to the VCR player and hit the stop button, after which the screen once again shone blue.

"I thought so too," said Bowser. "That's still incriminating evidence. Right Fox?"

"Wait a minute…" said Fox. "Didn't Ganondorf say he walked into the control room and found Yoshi in the tank?"

"Yes," said Bowser.

"Didn't Albrecht also say that he had cameras in the execution rooms?"

"Yes, but they didn't reveal anything," said Bowser.

A short silence followed. In the dim light the TV screen provided, Bowser saw Fox run to the box and begin sifting through it to find a tape.

"Fox, I thought I told you I checked those tapes already!" said Bowser. "There's nothing referring to Ganondorf on any of the others!"

The young fox was a bit fast, however, and he unearthed a tape bearing the title "YoshiEx" only seconds after Bowser said what he did.

"We'll see about that…" said Fox.

He walked to the VCR and inserted the tape in the player.

The room Yoshi died in came up on the screen. Everything was intact from how the investigation had found it after Falco had been murdered.

This image stood on the screen for a while, the bobbing of Yoshi's body in his grave being the only movement on the tape.

Suddenly, however, a figure entered the scene.

Bowser recognized this as Ganondorf.

"What is this?" asked Bowser with such sincere surprise.

"Something the matter?" asked Fox.

"This is YoshiEx, right?" asked Bowser.

"Yes," said Fox.

"This wasn't on that tape," said Bowser.

Before they could say another word, Fox ran back to the box and sifted through the tapes as fast as he could, lifting one up right away and looking through the rest.

Bowser turned to the TV screen to see Ganondorf looking around in fright and suddenly running out of the room.

The king sat there for a few moments, dumbfounded at what he had just seen.

If Yoshi was bobbing in his grave the way it was found by the investigation team, and if Ganondorf arrived in that area when Yoshi was in the water, then it had to mean that Ganondorf had been telling the truth about Yoshi.

"Bowser?"

Fox's somewhat nervous voice pulled the king back into reality rather quickly.

"Yes?" asked the king.

"How come there are two YoshiEx tapes and one of all the other tapes?" asked Fox.

"Two tapes?" asked Bowser. "Why would—"

And then, a thought clicked in Bowser's mind that horrified and angered the king beyond belief.

"Fuck!" roared the king. He yelled the obscenity so loudly it reverberated through the basement walls and went right through whatever white screens were waiting to be found in the subterranean world that they were in.

"Bowser, watch your language!" said Fox even more nervously than before. "What—?"

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" With each obscenity, the king banged his fist on the stand which the TV rested on, banging it so hard Fox was more afraid than ever.

"Bowser, settle down!" yelled Fox. "Take a deep breath, uncurl your fists, and for heaven's sake stop swearing!"

The Koopa king eventually began to exhale quite heavily as his rage watered down.

"What happened?" asked Fox.

"Somebody made a second tape," said Bowser. "He then replaced the tape with the evidence that would have proven Ganondorf innocent with a tape that would not have done so."

Silence was in the air afterwards.

"You think Albrecht did that?" asked Fox.

"No," said Bowser. "I let it happen because I left the tapes by the TV figuring nobody would tamper with them."

"And why's it so bad that you have to scream the f-word six times?" asked Fox.

"It's because of the swapped tape and my immediate assumption that we ended up doing the murderer's work for him."

Fox stepped back, shock showing on his face.

* * *

"Are you freaking kidding me? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?" 

"I'm afraid not. I wish we could have noticed it earlier."

"So the murderer is still around?"

"Yes."

"No!"

Other cries of despair followed.

Bowser and Fox had to be the unlucky ones to inform the rest of the investigation team about what they had found. Poor Zelda just stared blankly at the two creatures while Nana was crying uncontrollably. Isolde and Mario were both found shaking their heads violently in a state of denial.

The group had let down ten innocent souls that had gone before him.

"I can't believe this!" shouted Mario. "Why were we so blind earlier?"

"I think we thought a little too much on the personal side," said Bowser. "In a way, I believe what Samus said in the trial was correct. We were too concerned with trying to pin blame that we ended up paving the way for more murders to happen."

"Which basically means we have to be more careful," said Isolde.

"Yes," said Fox.

"Still, I can't believe we're in crosshairs even after Ganondorf died!" said Popo. "I really thought that we were safe!"

"It will be hard for us all," said Isolde. "However, we must overcome. There is no exception."

Heads nodded in agreement to Isolde's statement.

"Do you think we should tell the others about this?" asked Nana.

"Definitely," said Bowser. "They have a right to know. Especially Samus, since she fought so hard to prove Ganondorf innocent when we all thought he was guilty. In the end, she was correct…"

"I know," said Popo. "Come on. We should tell everybody else."

The group left the room.

* * *

The eeriness that had taken over the mansion when people knew the murderer was there returned when the news that Ganondorf had not been the murderer had resounded throughout the mansion. The gloom of the blood-red walls that could be stained with blood any second reverberated more than ever in the mansion and the floating candelabra could have been the murderer using a cloaking device to his advantage. 

Such were Isolde's thoughts as she walked down the hallway with Marth. The Altean prince had really begun looking out for her for a while now. The young woman had noticed this since the trial, for he would never let her wander about without keeping a steady eye on the young woman. He continued doing this even after the trial where differences in opinion should have separated them.

Neither of them had spoken since leaving the match lounge.

At the moment they reached the dorm floor, however, Marth finally made a move to speak.

"I do not feel very good about what is going to happen next," said Marth.

"Neither do I," replied Isolde. "With everybody's reactions to our revelation, we might get anything."

"Albrecht seemed disturbed by it all," said Marth. "I think he was forced to come to terms with the fact that we had mismanaged all of the information."

"I know," said Isolde. "I wonder where it all began…"

"I think Samus was right in the trial," said Marth. "We were ready to pounce on anybody if we had enough evidence to prove them guilty."

"Thinking back on it, I think so too," said Isolde. "But I can't help thinking of the fact that the trial was somehow rigged."

"It could have been," said Marth.

"I don't think it would have made a difference if it had not been rigged, though," said Isolde. "I mean, Ganondorf might have been found dead in his room afterwards if the trial declared Ganondorf innocent, so the murderer would have gotten him either way."

"I see your point," said Marth. "Samus did not take any of this good."

"I know," said Isolde. "She must have yelled so loudly the space pirates from her home galaxy would have heard her. I understand where she's coming from, though. I'd be frustrated if I defended a person who got executed and my defense proved to be correct."

"She also said stuff about how we were incompetent fools and things like that," said Marth. "I do not believe she meant it, though."

"I don't think so either," said Isolde. "Anger can do that to you."

"Yes," said Marth. "I wonder if the murderer is planning out the next murder as we speak."

"It's scary," said Isolde. "Either we lose Captain Falcon and have angry fans after our tails, or we lose Pichu and get angry parents and fans after us. Either way, the match tomorrow is a very dangerous affair for all of us."

"I know," said Marth. "Let us pray that nothing major happens…"

The two continued walking down the hallway.

* * *

"This is very disturbing…" said Falcon as he walked up to his spot on the warp pad. 

"Pichu," said the only yellow mouse that was left. "Pichu pi pi!"

"I don't want to die either," said the F-Zero pilot. "But I guess it's inevitable."

"Pichu!" said Pichu.

"I'll tell you what," said Captain Falcon. "I think I'll purposely lose just to let you live."

A confused silence took hold of the warp pads.

"Pichu?" asked a confused Pichu.

"I don't think that children such as yourself should die," said Captain Falcon.

"Pichu pi pichu!" shouted Pichu angrily.

"I know it's stupid," said Captain Falcon. "But you are a child, Pichu! You have a whole life ahead of you! Me? I have lived my life, and I don't regret anything. In the end, living a life that you won't regret in the afterlife is the greatest gift anybody can give you."

Pichu sat on his pad in deep thought. Finally, the mouse Pokémon nodded in agreement.

"Good," said the captain. "Do your best!"

With this, the competitors were warped to their destinations on the arena.

* * *

Bowser was sitting alone in his room. He had been thinking about where to begin the investigation again over the past hour. 

The king was especially disturbed by the fact that all the evidence they had was incorrect the entire time and that an innocent person had been killed because of one little blunder in the investigation. He knew that from then on he would have to double-check all of the evidence the investigation found to see if there was anything missing.

But even then, Bowser knew this was not foolproof. The murderer had made a second tape in Yoshi's execution room and swapped it with the tape that would have proven Ganondorf innocent. He would have to be careful with the evidence from then on, with one of the first steps being not to reveal where the evidence was to anybody but people in the investigation.

Bowser also thought about the people in the investigation. Marth and Peach had both expressed interest in joining the investigation earlier in the day, so Bowser figured more people were finding out about it. This was good, since the group would get multiple points of view, which would always help in an investigation. Samus was probably going to be the only person not in the investigation since she was still angry over Ganondorf's death.

"Daddy!"

This interrupted his train of thought as the figure of Bowser Junior entered the elder koopa's view. The young koopa's very small form ran to Bowser as he picked up the young child in his arms.

"Junior!" exclaimed Bowser, attempting to hide any depression he was having when he thought. "What brings you here?"

"Everybody's at the match lounge!" exclaimed Bowser Jr. "Why aren't you with us?"

"Well, daddy has… things to think about," said the elder koopa. "Someday you might understand what it is about."

"Oh," said the young boy. "I wonder what you're thinking about!"

"I can't tell you that," said Bowser. "Daddy was thinking of adult topics. You know what I say about those, right?"

"That I wouldn't understand them?" asked Bowser Jr.

"Yes," said Bowser. "And this topic in particular is very confusing for you."

"Okay," said Bowser Jr., a slight sigh revealing disappointment. "Daddy?"

"Yes, son?" asked Bowser.

"Do you think you will die now that the murders are back?" asked Bowser Jr.

This surprised Bowser beyond belief. The elder koopa wondered how Bowser Jr. was able to understand what was going on in the mansion. It did not exactly come as a relief, either, since his son knew that he was in danger of dying.

"I don't know," said Bowser finally after thinking of a response. "Anything can happen. I don't believe I will, but I might."

Bowser knew that the question was ridiculous; as long as he was in the tournament, he could lose anytime. Therefore, he knew that he probably would die as the thing progressed. However, he said he did not know simply to assuage his child's fears.

"I don't want you to die," said Bowser Jr. "My friends back home tell me that when a person's father dies they send that person to an orphanage where the person is hurt until they grow up. I don't want to end up there! I don't!"

"Your friends tend to make it seem worse than it really is," said Bowser. "But if you do not want it, I can… change some things around."

"Really?" asked Bowser Jr.

"Yes," said the elder koopa. "In fact, I think I might go to do that now."

"Hooray!" shouted Bowser Jr. "I want to tell all of my friends about it!"

"You can do so," said Bowser.

The young koopa ran outside jumping in the air in glee. Bowser followed shortly after, seeking a different destination.

_It is about time that I redo my will anyways,_ thought Bowser.

* * *

Falcon zipped to the edge of the stage as Pichu landed a final Thunder on the F-Zero racer. 

_Here goes…_ thought the captain as he sailed into blackness.

For a few minutes, the captain was in a black void that held nothing in particular.

After a while, though, he felt himself materialize face-down on a table that vaguely resembled a surgical table. He was strapped to the table by his arms and his legs, and he felt himself unable to move from anywhere else thanks to a metal band around his waist that had somehow appeared where he was.

"I see you struggle," said a hoarse voice.

Falcon had figured out that the voice belonged to the murderer.

"I'm just testing my grip here," said Falcon. "What are ya gonna do to me, huh? You gonna dissect me while I'm still alive?"

"Now really," said the hoarse voice. "If I was thinking about dissection, I would have laid you face up instead of face down. You have got the wrong murder idea, my friend."

A patting of metal was heard soon after.

"You see, you are strapped to a guillotine," said the murderer. "I believe you know what that can do, right?"

"It chops people's heads off," said Falcon. "You really think I'm going to allow you to do that?"

"You cannot forbid me," said the murderer. "You are strapped to a table after all."

"Yeah," said Falcon. "But my mouth can do stuff."

There was a slight pause in the conversation.

"Always the rebel until the end?" asked the murderer.

"Hey!" shouted the captain. "I lost on purpose to let Pichu live! I'd be letting him down if I was afraid in the face of death!"

"So you took his death-token…" said the murderer. "Interesting what human nature will do to get others motivated. How did you find out Ganondorf was not the murderer anyway?"

"We were told so by Bowser!" said the Captain.

"Eh, that fool will never get enough evidence to stop me," said the murderer. "You will see in the afterlife, my friend."

At this sentence, rapid footsteps were heard.

"Damn!" said the murderer. "You dirty windbag!"

"Better a windbag than a coward," said the captain in eloquent speech that Falcon himself realized was unusual of him.

"Shut up!" yelled the murderer. "You die now!"

The captain heard Bowser's voice yell out loudly before hearing rope being sliced to his right.

And then, the razor came down on his neck and ended his life.

* * *

Bowser, Zelda, and Isolde were all shocked at what had just unraveled. 

When Captain Falcon had lost the match, the three of them were off to the basement to search out the white screen with Falcon in it. The others went separate ways to raise the chances of them finding the murderer before Falcon was murdered, and so they were the only three there.

However, right when they got there, a blade had cut the rope of a guillotine in half. This in turn severed Falcon's head off, which then obviously ended in a very graphic way that would have scarred any other onlooker for the rest of their lives.

"Holy shit!" said Bowser. "Search the room! Quick!"

Isolde and Zelda ran throughout the room searching for any traces of the murderer. Anything would have done for either of them; hair, a piece of their garments, anything would have sufficed to satisfy their need to figure out who the murderer was.

Bowser went to the severed head of Captain Falcon, meanwhile. When he picked it up, he was surprised at what he saw etched in Falcon's expression when he died.

A smirk had been placed on his lips forever, and his eyes were wild not with fear but with the air of a victorious king that had won a major war.

Bowser wondered what could have caused such a facial expression to be formed on the face of Falcon right when he died.

"We can't find anything!"

Isolde's voice snapped Bowser out of his trance. With a reluctant sigh, Bowser turned to Isolde.

"Nothing?" asked Bowser.

"Nothing," said Isolde. "What is going on with Falcon's head?"

"I don't know," said Bowser. "It's almost as if—"

And then, everything made sense to the king.

Captain Falcon had gone into the murder knowing he was going to die. However, he was defiant until his time came. As stubborn as Falcon usually was, Bowser knew that in the end his stubbornness garnered him one little victory for the other competitors.

"Isolde," said Bowser. "Zelda."

"Yes?" asked the two women.

"We have to show the others Falcon's head," said Bowser. "He was defiant until the end, and I think it would speak a great deal to the others to show how fearlessly he walked into the shadow of death. This murderer is hard to catch, but he is not invincible. This head is the most obvious testament of that. The smashers would need great motivation to hear that this murderer is not the invincible one we take him to be!"

"I agree," said Isolde. "Except I think you might want to be careful with the details…"

Bowser nodded, and walked out of Falcon's death room.


	16. Chapter 15

Author: Sorry it took so long for me to update; had many things to do. Well, KILL THE EMPIRE here working on the next chapter of La Belle. Enjoy!

"So let me get this straight," Marth said as he crossed his arms, "you want to motivate them by showing them Captain Falcon's severed head…"

"I know it seems crazy, but there's a message behind this." Isolde said as she continued to embrace Marth.

"Excuse me, but does Albrecht know about you two?" Zelda asked.

"I don't think daddy would be very comfortable with us, so please don't tell him." Isolde pleaded to Zelda.

"It doesn't matter if you date him or not," Bowser said as he entered the room with the head in the bag, "what matters is that the people are scared and we must motivate him. Show them that this guy is not invincible, show them that we can beat him, and we will."

"Right, and you plan on showing our spirit using a severed head…I still don't get it." Marth said as he shook his head.

Look at the expression etched on his face," Bowser commanded as he dug into the bag to pull out the head. "See? He has the look of a warrior."

"More like the look of someone who saw a string tied to a cat's tail." Marth jokingly admitted.

"That's not funny!" Isolde shouted.

"Sorry, I'm kidding." Marth said as he reached down to peck her on the cheek. HE withdrew his head and finally asked what the expression meant.

"Look, he was defiant to the end, a rebel." Bowser tried to explain to Marth, "This look has motivated me to believe that we can catch this guy."

"Hmm, now that I look at it more closely, he does look kinda cute," Marth said after taking a closer look at it. "Can we keep it, Isolde?"

"I don't think I'd be very comfortable with a severed head in our living room, dear."

"Living room?" Bowser asked.

"Dear?" Zelda asked. "Jesus Christ, are you already engaged?"

"No, not yet," Isolde said, "but after this is over, he'll propose to me, right?"

"Right." Marth smiled as the two reached over to kiss again.

"For Christ's sakes, get a room," Fox said as he walked into the room, "so what did you want, Bowser?

"I wanted to show you something." Bowser said as he threw the head in front of Fox. Fox gasped and jumped back against Marth, who decided to start laughing at that point.

"Holy crap! Is this supposed to be some kind of sick joke?" Fox screamed.

"No," Bowser said, "It's supposed to show that Captain Falcon died a rebel, look."

Fox jumped off of Marth and took a closer look at the head. "Wow, looks like this murderer didn't scare him. It kind of makes you think, doesn't it?"

"Exactly," Bowser said as he stuffed the head back into the bag, "now I'm going to show this to everybody, its proof that this guy isn't invincible."

"Supposed to be some kind of motivation thingy," Marth whispered into Fox's ear. Fox nodded and opened the door for Bowser.

"Wow, after hearing that speech," Mario said to Bowser, "that was the first time I wasn't scared of this guy. Kudos to you!"

"Thanks." Bowser said.

He was in the room with the whole investigation team, being congratulated on the stunning speech he gave to the whole mansion. It was so great, everybody stood up and applauded, even that messenger guy Bowser met earlier, who gave him the creeps every time he saw him. The pale faced man would smile and say "hello" to Bowser every time he bumped into him. As polite as he was, he still gave Bowser the creeps.

"I just don't get it," Bowser said while shaking his head at Mario, "That guy's face is so pale, and he always dresses in a black trench coat. He looks exactly like the murderer."

"Do you think he is?" Mario asked.

"I'm not sure, I have talked to him a few times; says the name is 'Sergio'."

"Oh, Albrecht told me he was a messenger who just lives in the mansion." Mario told him. "I wouldn't think he's the murderer, he always watches the matches, and seems like he's very into the match."

"Really, has he mentioned anything about the murders?"

"Told me he really liked that Ganondorf, saddened when he died."

"Have you seen him with any friends?"

"Yeah, I see him hang out with Roy every once in a while."

Bowser placed his hand on his chin to think. After a few seconds of thinking, he decided to have a talk with Roy.

"I heard you were seen hanging around a man named 'Sergio'." Bowser said to Roy.

As soon as Roy heard the name, he jumped and began to shake.

"What's wrong?" Bowser asked.

"Yeah, I've hung out with the guy a few times," Roy said in a shaky voice, "Every time I see him, I get these huge migraines."

"Really,"

"Yeah, I thought he was the murderer, but he wasn't because from what I understood, he was nowhere near the murder sites when they happened." Roy said in a shaky voice. "He also told me he knew who the murderer was."

"He did?" Bowser nearly screamed. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Because recently, I've been very tired, and every time I run into him, he makes me feel like I have more energy. I'm not afraid of him, because he helps me."

Bowser shook his head and left the room. After turning a few corners, he saw the man dressed in black leaning up against a corner, staring at him.

"You wanted to see me?" He asked in a dark voice.

"Yeah, I heard you knew who the murderer was, so I want to know what you know!" Bowser nearly screamed.

"I see you've talked to my good friend Roy, oh well." He shrugged and let out a small chuckle. "I've noticed the murderer kills people in the tournament, so I have no worries, not to mention he seems to kill those who loose the match."

"I already know that, so who is it?"

"How would I know? I'm not the murderer." Sergio said with a cracked smile on his lips.

"Why do I not believe you?"

"Because I dress in black, and have a deep voice, and seem so mysterious, is that correct?"

"Y-yeah." Bowser was quite taken back at that comment. "Alright, game's up!"

"From what I understand, the game is still on, and while you're interrogating me, you must prepare for your next match, is that right?" Sergio asked. "Now if you'll excuse me, Albrecht needs me. And if you have any concerns, please feel free to talk to me."

He turned to leave, but stopped and turned his head. "By the way, I gave Roy some energy pills, so he wouldn't sleep much, but I'm still curious about his sleep walking. Don't worry, it's just some psychological mumbo jumbo, I'll get him to stop sleepwalking in no time."

He chuckled as he began to walk off.

"He seems to care for Roy," Bowser told himself, "there's no way he'd be the murderer."

He then remembered he was up next to fight his match and he must train.

The next day, Zelda, Mario, Fox, Nana, Popo, Isolde, and Marth had entered Bowser's room to wish him luck.

"Thanks guys, I'll be sure to win." Bowser said. Zelda then stepped up to him with a frown on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Look, we know this must be very hard on you, and I just wanted you to know I'll support you on what ever decision you make." Zelda said.

"What are you talking about?" Bowser asked.

"Look, don't try and act like you're okay, we know how much trouble this is to you." Fox said after stepping out.

"Guys, seriously, I have no idea what's going on." Bowser said as he forced out a small chuckle.

"Bowser?" Zelda asked. "Do you know who you are going up against?"

"Nah, I forgot to check up on who my opponent was, I just found out yesterday I was up next, too busy on this whole murder case."

Fox and Zelda stared at each other and sighed. Fox decided he would break the news to Bowser. "Bowser, "He said, "You're going up against Young Link."

Bowser gasped, and said nothing.

"Look, let's give him some time alone." Fox said. The others nodded and left the room silently.

Mario was the first to speak. "Guys, what's wrong with Bowser?"

"Mario, don't you know?" Zelda asked. "Bowser has a son."

"Oh yeah!" Mario nearly cried out. His expression soon turned into a frown. "Wait a sec, Bowser Jr. Is the same age as Young Link…Now I see why he's so worked up. Poor Bowser, he's a father and now he must decide between himself and a young boy."

"Well, what ever he decides, even if he chooses to end his life, I'll support him." Zelda said. "Well, it's early, and the match isn't until way later in the day, so we must prepare for other stuff."

"Like what?" Nana asked.

"Didn't you hear?" Fox asked. "Due to the murder trial, the media is suspicious about the disappearances of the smashers who lost."

"So what's gonna happen?" Popo asked.

"They're going to send an inspector to investigate the disappearances, and ask some question about the murder trial." Marth said. "It already got out that Ganondorf was convicted of murder and executed, but Albrecht is doing his best to make sure that's all the media know. So while this guy is here, he must know nothing about other murders and this whole thing that's going on."

"Oh crap!" Popo shouted. "So now not only do we have to investigate, we have to stop the media from knowing what's going on?"

"Afraid so," Mario said.

"Don't worry, Albrecht has a plan." Zelda said.

Albrecht opened the door to greet a middle aged bald man dressed in a dark blue business suit.

"Hello, you must be the inspector," Albrecht said with a smile, "Welcome to my mansion."

"It is an honor to be here. My name is Hector Orsak." The inspector said as he grabbed Albrecht's hand to shake. "I suspect you know why I'm here."

"Yes, to investigate the trial and the disappearances." Albrecht said. "Please, feel free to trek anywhere you wish."

"Thank you." Hector said. "Please, continue your daily businesses, act as if I'm not here at all."

"Will do." Albrecht said with a smile.

Hector was soon off investigating other rooms while the smashers went back to their daily businesses.

The day got brighter, and the match came closer, and Bowser was still trying to decide what he would do.

The time for the match had finally come, and Bowser had finally made his decision to the investigation team.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Zelda asked as she let a tear trickle down her face.

"You know what happens if you throw in the towel," Fox said as he patted Bowser on the back.

"Yeah, but I also know what happens to that innocent boy if I win the match, too." Bowser said as he bowed his head. "Well, I'll miss you guys."

"We'll miss you too." Mario said.

Bowser walked out to the arena, where he greeted a nervous Young Link.

"READY!" The announcer screamed.

The rest of the investigation team took their seats and watched with intense eyes. The inspector waited eagerly for the match.

"GO!" The announcer screamed.

"Is it me?" Sergio asked Roy, "Or is Bowser going easy on him."

"I'm not sure." Roy said. He looked up at Sergio. "Tell me, who are you?"

"You should be worrying more about who you are before you worry about me." Sergio said with a cracked smile. Roy shrugged and looked down at the match.

"It's now down to one stock," Mario said, "I guess this is how he wanted it to end, fighting the good fight."

"So what will we tell Bowser Jr.?" Zelda asked.

"The truth, that's all we have to offer." Fox said.

Bowser backed up to the ledge, and waved at Young Link. Young Link gasped and threw his boomerang at him, forcing Bowser to duck.

"What are you doing?" Bowser asked.

"What are YOU doing?" Young Link asked, "I cannot let you die, I'm willing to die right now!"

"You've lived your life; it is me who will die today!" Bowser screamed.

He felt a hard thud on the head, and fell on his face. Bowser looked up to see Young Link jump over him and run to the edge. _Damn that boomerang!_

Bowser jumped up and ran after Young Link.

"WAIT!" He screamed.

Young Link leapt off the edge and began his fall, but it was soon ceased when Bowser reached out and grabbed his hand.

"What are you doing?" Young Link asked.

"I have no idea how I will go on if I let you die." Bowser said.

"Please, you're the only one who can catch this man!" Young Link screamed. "Now let go of me!"

"I compliment your bravery, but now is not a good time to be sacrificing yourself!" Bowser screamed.

"You have a better idea?"

A thought just hit Bowser.

"Actually, I do!" Bowser said with a smile. "Hang on!"

He threw Young Link in his arms and jumped off the ledge.

GAME!

The crowed stood up in silence.

"What just happened?" Isolde asked.

"Whoa!" Marth screamed.

Fox stood in silence for a long time.

"Fox, are you alright?" Zelda asked. Fox said nothing.

"Yo Fox, we're talking to you." Mario called as he waved his hand across Fox's face.

"BRILLIANT!" Fox finally screamed.

"What's brilliant?" Zelda asked.

"What Bowser did!" Fox screamed in excitement.

"What did Bowser do?" Mario asked.

"He grabbed Young Link and carried him down with him." Fox said in excitement, "Thus, ending it with a tie!"

"So it was a tie?" Zelda asked.

"Yeah,"

"So what does that mean?" Mario asked.

"Due to the tie," Albrecht announced on his announcer, "the match has been adjourned until tomorrow at the same time."

"Brilliant!" Mario screamed. "So that means we have an extra day!"

"Actually," Marth said, "If he continues to tie like that, they will keep having a rematch until a victor is finally decided, meaning nobody looses, and nobody wins."

"So if they keep this up," Zelda started,

"Then there's no way the murderer can murder anyone." Mario finished.

Isolde cheered in happiness. "Now we have a chance of stopping the murderer!"

They all quickly returned to the mansion where Bowser and Young Link stood facing each other.

"Bowser!" Nana called.

"That was brilliant!" Popo finished.

"Thanks." Bowser said with a smile.

"You have officially stopped the murders!" Mario announced, "Just keep this up, and nobody will have to die!"

"Yeah, and now that we have more time, we can get back to solving this murder case." Bowser said as he began to chuckle. "I'm guessing the murderer is now pissed at me."

"Well, we did beat him at his own game." Zelda said with a smile.

The investigation team finally split up and continued to investigate the impermeable walls, but the happiness soon halted when Mario went into Bowser's room.

"Bowser," Mario said as he took off his hat and bowed his head.

"Is something wrong, Mario?" Bowser asked.

"You may wanna come take a look at this."

Bowser was shocked at the scene. Zelda, Mario, Marth, Isolde, Nana, Popo, and Fox watched Bowser slowly step closer to the scene.

There were two hung bodies dangling from the ceiling, one belonging to Hector, the inspector; the other belonging to Young Link.

Hector had a scared expression etched on his face, but Young Link had a bag over his head and still hung by a rope dangling down from the ceiling.

"How could he do this?" Fox asked.

Bowser was still silent, and his mouth gaping.

"That bastard!" Isolde shouted.

"Has he no heart?" Mario asked.

"Why do you suppose Young Link has a bag over his head?" Zelda asked.

Fox walked up to Young Link's dangling corpse, and removed the bag, revealing Young Link's smirk.

"He's…Smiling…" Marth said while letting his jaw drop.

"The murderer must have gotten angry at young Link's smile, so he covered it up so he wouldn't look at it." Mario said as he bowed his head. "Just like Falcon, except this time, the murderer was expecting it…"

Bowser continued to stare at the two corpses, eventually collapsing to his knees, letting tears fall down to the floor.

"Why…" Bowser asked himself. "He was innocent; he should have taken me…"

Bowser was alone in his room, sitting on the edge of his bed, thinking.

There was a thud. Bowser looked up at his opened door. Another thud, it sounded like footsteps, coming towards his room. Bowser could only watch, and wait for what was to come.

Another thud, except this one was louder. The sound became louder and louder with each thud. The pounding soon stopped, and before he knew it, there was a cloaked figure standing at the foot of his door.

"Hello, Bowser." The figure said. The voice sounded like it was half demon, the other half man, like the kind you hear when one is possessed by a ghost. You hear the voice of the ghost, but the voice of the man at the same time.

"You…" Bowser muttered. "You're the murderer!"

Bowser jumped up in rage and raised his right claw and began to charge. His body stopped, and twitched. Bowser tried to move his arms, but they wouldn't move, neither would his legs. He felt himself sit down on his bed.

"You're voice…" Bowser muttered, "You sound like Sergio…"

"Little do you know…Sergio is in his room, happily asleep…" The cloaked figure growled in his sinister voice, "and so is everybody else, except me and you…"

"You have me trapped, like a bird in a cage, so what will you do now? Murder me?" Bowser asked.

"I'd love to, but I'm afraid I cannot." The murderer said. "I've already did my business, and just came by to pay you a visit."

"You bastard! WHY DID YOU TAKE HIM, WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE ME INSTEAD?" Bowser screamed. "HE WAS AN INNOCENT BOY, AND YOU KILLED HIM! WHY!"

"Because he lost the match. He jumped off the edge." The murderer began to chuckle.

"NO! IT WAS A TIE!"

"He chose to jump, and you chose to save him."

"IT WAS STILL A GOD DAMNED TIE!"

"Alright, I'll play by your logic, but you did fail to see one other point."

"And what was that?"

"That I consider ties as both loosing, and I am to decide which looser lives, and which looser dies. Young Link was willing to sacrifice himself, and receive the gift of death, in exchange for you to receive the reward of life. Congratulations, Bowser, you have been spared."

"NO! I WANTED TO SACRIFICE MYSELF INSTEAD OF HIM! I ALREADY LIVED MY LIFE! HE WAS STILL A BOY AND HAD MANY MORE YEARS AHEAD OF HIM!"

"I'm sorry,"

"SORRY? YOU KILLED THESE PEOPLE IN COLD BLOOD, AND YOU SAY SORRY?"

"You poor pathetic bastard, do you have any idea why I chose Young Link over you?"

"WHY!"

"You are a father, and you already bare a son. It is not in my heart to separate a father and a son."

"YOU HAVE NO HEART!"

"Also, Young Link was an orphan; he had no place to go. After the death of his brother, there was no other place for him to live, who would have taken care of him?"

"I WOULD HAVE BEEN GLAD TO ADOPT HIM! I WOULD TAKE HIM IN AS MY OWN SON! I COULD AFFORD TO GIVE HIM AN EDUCATION AND A CHANCE AT LIFE!"

"Life is tough, but you must not kill yourself over this, you have been given a second chance. If you win this tournament, you get to live for ever."

"I swear, as God is my witness," Bowser growled, "I will kill you!"

"You shall be rewarded with the gift of ending my life if you win this tournament, but until then, live, breath, and enjoy life. From what I understand, life is more important now-a-days due to others ending."

He turned around to leave.

"Wait!" Bowser called.

He stopped and turned, "Yes?"

"Why the inspector; what did he ever do to you?" Bowser asked.

"Why, I can't have people snooping around my business, now can I?"

He was soon gone, leaving Bowser to lie in his bed. Bowser son felt his body cooperating with him again, and kneeled over the bed, to cry. He cried all night long, not stopping until sleep drifted over him.

Author: Well, I hope you enjoyed my chapter; sorry for waiting so long. Until next time!

- JIMBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


	17. Chapter 16

**O…M…I'M SO SORRY PEOPLE! It's been WAAAY too long! (Bows in apology over and over again) **

**Falco: Ahh, you managed to update, and that's all that matters. I like the chapter too. I think the readers will as well. **

**Still…I delayed this for far too long! I feel so bad! ;.; **

**Falco: Well, the other collab authors forgave you, so that's good. Right? **

**Yes. Oh, and credit is given to Herr Wozzeck. The others below will state why. Away chapter, because it's about time! **

The kids' spirits died. That's all there was to it. Young Link…dead…never to play with them again.

Ness stood silently as he heard the news from the team. It had been a draw, a tie, a loophole…unfortunately, it was already covered. And Young Link was the one who paid the ultimate price.

"It's…going to be so weird…without him…" Nana muttered sadly, tears in her eyes. "You know?"

"Yeah," Popo agreed, giving his sister a hug. "Zelda's devastated too; she came with Link, Young Link, and Ganondorf; now she has to leave alone." She looked to the Hylian princess, who was watching the ground; her eyes were red.

"That is…if she even does make it through this alive," Ness said.

"Don't say that!" Popo cried. "We'll…we'll make it through! We'll stop him before the finals end! R-right!?"

"Then we have to hurry," Fox said. "Already, others have to make the same choice as Bowser had to…" He looked to Marth and Isolde as he spoke.

The prince paled. "What do you mean?"

"The next battle's you versus Ness," Fox replied sadly, shaking his head.

Eyes widened as everyone gasped, looking towards both Marth and Islode before turning to face Ness.

"Again!?" Bowser roared. "We have to go through this again!? Why are the gods torturing us so!?"

"It's alright…" Ness said, holding up his hands. "It's cool. Really. I have no problems losing this match."

"And dying so young?" Marth asked. "You're still a child Ness! You have your whole life ahead of you!"

"But you're a prince!" Ness shouted. "You're going to be king one day!"

"I'm…not really…I was exiled, remember?"

"Doesn't matter!" Ness shouted. "You'll find a way to return home. I know it! Besides, I'm sure your people still love you! And what about poor Isolde? First Falco, now you? Do you want to put her though such misery!?"

"I…" Marth looked to the ground. "No…of course not…"

"Then let me lose," Ness said. "For both of your sakes, let me lose."

"But Ness, what about your parents and friends!?" Nana shrieked. "What about us!? We'll be the only kids left in the mansion!"

"It's okay," Ness said calmly. "You guys will be fine; you have each other. My parents and friends will understand, too. They'll know I did my best, and that I lived a full life, and that's all that matters."

"You call this a full life!?" Bowser roared. "I'm not going to stand here and watch another child die!"

"Then what are we supposed to do!?" Ness shouted angrily. "It's my life, you know! And if I say I want to end it, I want to end it! Seriously! If I do win…I'll kill myself! I swear!"

" Ness…" Bowser was speechless. "You…are you…so sure?"

"I've never been sure of anything in my entire life," Ness said in reply. "Yes. I will lose the battle, so others don't have to live in misery."

"Your friends and family…"

"They will understand!" Ness shouted. "You must trust me on this! Why aren't you!?"

"Don't hold anything back Ness," Marth said. "Even though you are so bent on losing…the guilt will still…"

"Yeah, of course," Ness said. "And please; don't feel too guilty after I'm gone, okay? I don't want anyone feeling guilty over my death."

Marth gave a small nod. "I'll do what I can. We better get ready." He gave Islode a kiss on the cheek before walking off. Ness nodded, waved to the Ice Climbers, and followed.

"Such a brave young boy…" Zelda muttered, feeling her eyes start to tear up.

"I…will always be in his debt," Isolde muttered. "Always."

"I can't believe this is happening!" Bowser roared. "This is--!"

"But Bowser, it _is_ happening," Mario said sadly. "We knew Marth had to make a choice. And so do I…I'm fighting the Ice Climbers two battles from now…"

Bowser looked at the plumber, the Ice Climbers, and back at Mario. "The murderer's--!"

"It's not the murderer's fault!" Mario shouted. "He didn't come up with the tournament board! He didn't put us against the kids! It's no one's fault! If we have to blame something…we should just blame our emotions and judgment."

Bowser looked to the Ice Climbers. "Do you guys support this!?"

"He's right…Popo and I will always have each other…" Nana muttered.

"I trust him," Popo said. "Because we're friends."

Bowser now wheeled on Zelda and Isolde. "And you two!?"

"It's Ness' life, Bowser," Zelda said sadly. "He's the one who chooses whether it ends or not. Not us."

"I…will always be grateful to him," Isolde said. "Besides…I don't think any of us could persuade him anyway…"

At last, Bowser turned to Fox. "And you!?"

" Ness thought this entire thing out; what would happen if he died, and what would happen if Marth died," Fox said. "Personally, I agree with him; Isolde did already lose Falco, even if he wasn't exactly a boyfriend; losing Marth not too long afterwards would be even worse. Thinking of others above himself…he's a brave lad."

Bowser was speechless. Why didn't they understand!? How could they stand there and let a child die!?

"I know what you're thinking," Mario muttered. "You're thinking about Bowser Jr. and Young Link. But…sometimes we have to do things that are considered wrong. And the sooner we solve this mystery, the sooner we save the Ice Climbers. And everyone else too."

"You don't understand!" Bowser roared. "None of you!"

"So you want Marth to die!?" Isolde asked, her voice rising in her anger. "Is that it!?"

"NO!" Bowser's voice matched Isolde's. "Of course not! I never said that! I don't want either of them to die! This is just like the last time! Except this time I'm on the sidelines! But--!"

"Both surviving isn't realistic though," Fox said. "You tried, and failed. Ness must've thought that out as well: Should we choose who dies, or should the murderer?"

Bowser looked to the ground. "I…would never want the murderer to choose…it's bad enough he kills them…"

"There you go," Fox said. "And Ness and Zelda are right; it is his life, not ours. We can manipulate situations, but it is really only Ness who can choose if he wants to die or not. And despite his young life, despite all he has waiting for him back home, he still chose to take the fall. He is very noble, and very brave. We should honor him for that, and let him do what he wants."

"And it's not like Marth wants Ness to die either," Isolde added. "He was against it, remember? But when he realized Ness wouldn't change his mind…"

"Then we better head to the arenas," Bowser muttered.

"Yeah," Popo agreed. "So we can give him one last goodbye."

"Well…let's go then," Nana muttered.

As the group made its way through the mansion, Ness stood before the teleporter, watching its light pattern for what might be the last time.

While the PSI user realized that they were all right in their own aspects, he was still going to do this. No holding back, until the very end…that was all there was to it.

He had made Marth promise to go all out…and already he knew his chances for winning were quite slim. While he was confident in himself as a fighter, he always had the feeling that Marth, with more age and experience than himself, had the better skills. But now was not the time for such though.

_'I wonder what one thinks about when they know they're about to die,'_ Ness thought, glancing around. He certainly wouldn't think about this place, that's for sure! He thought of his mother and father, his friends back in Onett, his travels to save his land. He thought about Young Link, who he would soon join, Popo and Nana, who would live the life he, and Young Link even, couldn't live. He thought about Bowser, who led the murderer into a trap and killed him. He thought about Mario, who clapped Bowser on the back. He thought about Zelda and Fox, who would be running to tell the others the news. He thought about Marth, sliding the engagement ring on a teary-eyed Isolde's finger.

Ness smiled, thinking about the happy things they would be doing when this was all over, and knew that he was making the right choice. _'Shucks! The only thing I have to worry about is Ganondorf, who's going to tell me I told you so!'_ He chuckled, imagining himself with a white robe and wings running away from a winged and robed Ganondorf, while the others, with the same wings and robes, laughed from the sidelines. He imagined a great, beautiful place, filled with flowers and trees and the life that had passed this world. He could see Young Link, with the other smashers and his ancestors behind him, waiting by the pearly white gate. He could hear Young Link saying. _"Welcome to Heaven Ness!"_

At once, the teleporter began to flicker and spiral; the time had finally come. Taking a deep breath and nodding, Ness walked into it, and felt himself being teleported away.

"READY?" Of all places they had to fight…it had to be the Final Destination…

"GO!"

For the investigation, the battle was intense; they watched as the two fighters went head to head, holding nothing back; items were sent flying, and slowly yet sure, they were losing stock. Ness would be the first; then Marth would eventually be sent flying. As things stood, the PSI user would lose the match anyway.

"I can't take this," Fox muttered. "I have to get out of this mansion. I'll be right back." He stood and left, without even waiting for the nods from the others. They were too busy watching the battle.

Then the tide turned, and soon Ness, with over one hundred percent damage and two stock, was winning against Marth, with fifty percent damage and only one stock. Ness was knocked out again, but now it was the prince who tethered towards losing, and death.

The PSI user refused to smash; he had planted the idea of losing the match firmly into his mind, and he would be damned if he ended up winning, and soon his damage counter rose to dangerous levels.

But now he realized that Marth was hesitating too; the guilt of letting a child die was obviously holding him back. For a time, the two stood, staring at each other, trying for one last time to persuade the other without words. Then Ness saw his opportunity; a bob-omb landed near Marth, and both knew what Ness was planning.

The PSI user ran forward, and unleashed a PK Fire, which caused the item to explode. Being so close to it, Ness was sent flying. Marth, meanwhile, had jumped away, holding his sword in a salute position as Ness turned into a star.

"GAME!"

Ness couldn't move…he could only barely breathe. His eyes weakly fluttered open…he was located outside the mansion. But how did he get here…? And what happened?

He remembered his sacrifice; the bob-omb's explosion seemed like a smoke bomb compared to the newly founded pain in his body though. Would he die here and now; having suffered…whatever he had after taking the final plunge? Or would someone find him?

His question was answered when he heard rustling in the bushes. Praying hard it was a smasher, Ness allowed his eyes to close.

The last thing he could hear was Fox's swearing.

When Ness was able to open his eyes again, he found he was now in the medical facility; the same room that Roy had been in not too long ago. The team, with the exception of Marth and Islode, Roy, and Peach, in her nurse outfit, gathered around the bed. "Wh…what happened?"

"You were found outside the mansion," Peach replied. "If Fox hadn't gone out to take a walk, you would've been dead by now."

"So…I survived the murderer's torture?" Ness asked weakly. He smiled. "Alright…"

"What a horrible way to die," Zelda muttered. "I must make sure to ban death by torture…no one deserves such pain…"

"Can you sit up?" Peach asked. The PSI user decided to give it a shot and rose from the bed; he was already starting to feel better. "Good! Just sit and rest, and you'll recover in no time!"

"Heh…with all the excitement going on, I…I forgot to eat," Popo said, scratching the back of his head. "I think we should all go and have dinner in celebration!"

"Yeah!" Roy agreed. "That sounds great!"

"Works for me," Bowser said. "I'm starved."

One by one the others agreed, until Peach was the only one who hadn't spoken. "Guys…I don't think that's a good idea…" She muttered. " Ness should really be in bed resting…"

"But food's essential!" Fox cried. "Besides, I'm sure a nice dinner will help him feel better. Right Ness?"

"Well, I _am_ getting hungry," Ness admitted. "It shouldn't be bad, Peach. I'll be okay."

"But what about the murderer?" Peach asked. "He or she probably already knows they failed the job. What if they want to hurt him?"

"He'll be with us Peach," Bowser replied. "Besides, he's not battling anyone, since he lost the match, so he can't be touched."

"Bowser! I'm surprised you think that way!" Peach cried. "What if the murderer _wanted_ Ness to be found alive? What if he dies while you guys eat!?"

"How the hell can Ness be possibly killed Peach!?" Bowser asked. "If you're trying to scare us, it's not working. We're going to eat, and you don't have to come with us if you don't want to!"

"But Bowser! I think this is exactly what the murderer wants!" Peach said. "I'm not trying to scare you guys!" She looked to everyone. "You believe me, right!?"

She was only met with silence. "Please…don't do it. Just let Ness rest here…please…"

But her words fell on deaf ears, and the others left the room, talking. Shaking her head, and feeling tears well in her eyes, Peach let a sob before making the bed.

The mansion had a kitchen and dining room, and everyone was seated in the grand table in the latter, holding up a glass of champagne or, in the younger kids' case, sparkling water or juice.

"To Ness!" Bowser cried, raising his glass. "For beating the odds and returning to us!"

"To Ness!" The others, minus the PSI user, roared, raising their glasses and drinking to the boy.

"You didn't have to do that…" He said, looking embarrassed.

"I insist!" Bowser said. "You have returned to us, and we are glad."

"Then I insist on this!" Ness said, raising his own glass. "To Bowser, the defender of the younger generation!"

"To Bowser!" The others, minus the koopa, shouted, raising their glasses and drinking now to the king.

After a few more toasts, they began to finally eat. Everyone began chatting, fleeing satisfied they had managed to outwit the murderer.

"Hey, I don't see Marth or Isolde here," Ness said, looking around. "They weren't in the medical room, either."

"Marth is spooked that you still lived, actually," Nana said. "He seems to think you're a ghost, Ness! And Isolde's with Samus trying to convince him that you're still alive."

Ness let out a bark of laughter before continuing finishing his meal. But as the food on his plate lessened and lessened, Ness felt stranger and stranger. Upon inspecting his plate, he saw a strange, white powder. First he thought it was salt, but when he lifted a piece of turkey and smelled it, it had a strange odor; bitter and faintly almond-like.

Before he could question what it was, he felt his eyelids grow heavy. His body began to slow down. In a matter of seconds, he collapsed, falling off the chair and onto the ground.

Nana noticed immediately. " Ness? Ness! Bowser! SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH NESS!"

Everyone turned as Bowser knelt at the boy's feet. "Wh-what the!? How did he…?"

Mario ran over and inspected Ness' plate. "That powder…" He carefully took a whiff. "Almonds? Could it be cyanide!?"

"Cyanide?" Several voices asked. "What's that!?"

"He's in a coma…" Peach whispered tearfully. "We have to hurry before it's too late!"

"Do you have an antidote kit!?" Bowser roared.

"I don't know!" Peach cried. "This facility isn't like the mansion back home!"

Wordlessly, Fox, Zelda, and the Ice Climbers began rummaging through the desk drawers and cabinets. Mario left for the doctor's old office, hoping to find it there.

Peach wiped Ness' forehead with a wet cloth as Bowser stared at the child. Why was this happening now? Before he could say anything, Ness began to twitch. "God! What's happening now!?"

"Seizures!" Peach cried, trying to hold him down. "Did anyone find the kit yet!?"

"Not yet!" Fox cried. "Oh man, what do we do now!?"

"Holy… Ness isn't breathing!" Bowser shouted.

"Apnea…" Peach muttered. "Then cardiac arrest…and finally…"

Several more minutes of fruitless searching followed before Peach whispered two words…

"He's dead…"

"Wha…NO!" Nana cried, tears welling up in her eyes. "And he lived through the battle! Why!?"

"YOU DID IT!" Bowser roared. You KNEW what he liked to eat, so you did it!"

"NO! I didn't!" Peach cried, tears falling like a waterfall. "I swear I didn't!"

"Of course she didn't!" Mario shouted angrily, entering the room. "She was the one telling us not to go! She was trying to save him!"

"She knew how he was going to die though!" Bowser roared. "She did it!"

"That doesn't make any sense!" Popo shouted. "If Peach was the murderer, she would've _wanted_ Ness to go, so he would die!"

"She still knew!" Bowser roared.

"It was female intuition!" Peach cried. "The murderer is obviously trying to tell us he's toying with us now!"

"Bowser, Peach has a point!" Zelda said. "Don't blame her!"

"Female intuition my—"

"What about Pikachu!?" Nana screamed. "What about Ganondorf!? We made this mistake twice already! Don't make it a third time!!"

Everyone stopped, staring at the crying Ice Climber. Popo nodded, shaking.

"She…she's right," He said. "Accusing each other wo-won't get us…any-anywhere…w-we have to find the mu-murderer…so no one else can die…"

Bowser looked to the ground, remembering Samus' words about fear and pandemonium during the trial. He had dismissed them as garbage back then, when he was so convinced that Ganondorf had did it, but now…

Now he knew she was right.

**Bowser: I've been a fool! SOB! ;.; **

**Marth: Geez, RoyalFanatic loves dealing with the chemicals, doesn't she? First Ganondorf dies by lethal injection; then Ness dies by food poisoning. As said above, credit is given to Herr, for suggesting cyanide. **

**Bowser: Yeah, tell me about it. XD So, at long last, and with many, many apologies for RoyalFanatic, chapter sixteen's up. Tell us what you think!**

**Marth: Review!**


	18. Chapter 17

**From the Publisher: So, so, SO sorry for the incredibly late update, folks! I knew that BabyG was having a hard time adjusting to college, so after all that shebang you get this. From all of us from the La Belle team, we apologize greatly!**

**So, this is BabyG's chapter, so I'll hand it over to her now, and I hope you enjoy our first update in forever!**

La Belle

Chapter 17

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Peach couldn't take the pressure anymore. She stormed out of the room without another word leaving the frustration, and pain behind. The conversations between her fellow smashers had faded as the door closed behind her. Ness's inert body was still lying on the ground. How could Bowser accuse her like that? She warned him. She warned them all, but their focuses were stuck on the fact that Ness survived…only to have his little moment of fame end up being the celebration of his death.

Perhaps that was the point. Peach shook her head. It was getting even more complicated as the tournament continued on. The murderer was tricky. Everything was planned from the beginning. It is what Peach presumed. He or she has a list of diverse methods of killing people. With each death continuing one after another, the murder draws a line and proceeds to the next.

The hallway back to her dorm seemed to stretch on forever. She listened to her footsteps feeling her heart pound forcefully against her chest. Her mind raced to all of those who had died. Link. Luigi. Pikachu. Ganondorf. Ness. She couldn't help, but think that she was next. Only a few smashers remained alive, most trying desperately to unravel the mysterious monster.

Suddenly Peach felt herself catch her breath. Her legs gave in on her as she fell against the wall sliding to the cold dark floor beneath her. Numerous tears rolled down her reddened cheeks as uncontrollable sobs escaped her lips. She found herself shaken by the discovery. The weight of what is to come placed itself upon Peach's shoulders.

It was her time to battle in the tournament.

Her life was now placed upon the line along with her opponent. It would be a difficult match as the two competitors are none other best friends and two females.

Peach was scheduled to battle against Zelda.

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"Come on, Samus!" Isolde stood impatiently in Samus' dorm. She faced the bounty hunter who remained silent on the edge of her bed. "You have to believe me."

Samus shook her head. "It doesn't make sense."

"Ness survived!" Isolde held a strong confident grin across her face. "Fox had found him after the match."

"I don't think whoever is killing everyone would let something like this slide." The blonde smasher felt her shoulders drop.

Ness was alive? Samus shook her head again. It was too hard to believe. The bounty hunter wanted to be as content as Isolde but found no reason to jump to conclusions and agree. She had her share of pain throughout the tournament. She didn't want another in her life. The trial turned into a disaster when Ganondorf was found innocent after his death. Now Isolde is saying the loser of the latest battle is alive?

"Why not come with me to visit him?" Isolde suggested, also helping the smasher to get back onto her feet.

"Fine." Samus agreed. She stood to her feet just as a blue hair prince walked into the room through the opened door.

Samus caught on to the aghast expression across Marth's face. She clearly understand which caused her believe her theory of Ness is false. Marth had battled the young child. Apparently the prince had won the match. Samus placed her hands on her hips as Isolde stepped next to Marth wrapping her arm around his.

"Are you okay, Marth?" She questioned looking up at him.

Marth steadily nodded. "I'm still spooked.

"Tell her Ness is alive." Isolde explained, "Samus doesn't believe me."

Marth turned to Samus solving the situation. "He is alive, Samus. I'm still shocked about the discovery but Ness is saved."

Samus threw her hands up in the air. "Okay. I'm going to follow you both and you guys can show me. I want to see him."

Isolde and Marth both nodded as they stepped to the side. Samus headed toward the door only to be halted by the young Pilot who blocked the door. Fox appeared devastated as he returned the gaze at the three in the room. His ears hung low as his eyes were dull with defeat.

"Don't bother." Fox muttered.

Samus raised an eyebrow perplexed. "What do you mean?"

"Ness is gone."

Isolde gasped grabbing Marth's arm tighter as the prince's eyes widened. "How is that possible?" Marth inquired.

"Ness was poisoned. The murderer had put cyanide in his food." Fox stepped deeper into the room and fell on the nearest bed.

Samus spun around. "Cyanide?"

Fox nodded. Samus crossed her arms. So the triumphant Ness was given only a few more minutes before perishing for good. The murderer was messing with them now. Whoever it was, was taking the advantage creating some type of game with it. It created hell for them, but to the murder it was fun.

"What's going on now?" Isolde questioned.

Fox shrugged. "Everyone is still trying to move on from Ness's death."

Samus sighed. "We need to get ahead of this murder. We need to come up with new plans."

"We've tried everything." Fox explained.

"We have to keep trying." Marth stepped up.

Samus agreed. She wasn't going let another innocent smasher get killed. It was time for them to truly step up in the game and put the murder to rest for a change.

"If we keep putting our minds together I'm sure we will uncover something. I bet the answer is right in front of us."

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"Why are we going to argue on something like this?"

Bowser stood by the girl's dorm as he continued to watch both princesses bickering on the battle that's to come. It was truly a difficult decision. Everyone who had previously fought came to an agreement on who would sacrifice themselves. Of course, this was the first battle against any of the girls. There was a lot more to it now. Just like the children in the tournament, no one wants to see a girl get killed.

Zelda and Peach both weren't agreeing anytime soon. Bowser didn't have any say in their conversation. Neither did Mario who accompanied them still distraught that it was Peach's turn. No one wanted to point names or suggest who take the fall. They decided to just let the girls come to an agreement, no matter how long it takes.

"This is horrible." Nana placed her hands on her cheeks shaking her head. She sat on the edge of Zelda's bed silently listening to the conversation.

"Peach…" Zelda sighed. "I have made sacrifices before. I want to do this, please. I have already lost everyone. Why not let me take the fall?"

"Because I'll never forgive myself!" Peach snapped replying back. "I've made sacrifices too in my life. I just can let this happen."

"But you have Mario." Zelda held her hand out to Mario silently standing next to Bowser. "You still have a life ahead of you."

"And you don't?" Peach whispered staggered by the fellow princess's comment. "Zelda, please…"

Bowser sighed deeply. He hated this. He hated everything. There was going to be no way around it. Everything they have thought of has failed or back fired in their face. He still hasn't gotten over Ness's death and knew that it would take a while before he does. The murderer was getting smarter each time around with extra plans up their sleeve. Knowing that either Peach or Zelda weren't going to be alive tomorrow brought more discomfort.

"I'd never thought I'd seen two competitors argue like this." Bowser commented. Mario lowered his head. "It proves that they are strong."

Nana fiddled with her fingers. "True princess..."

Peach frowned and sat down on the bed behind her. She held her arms as Zelda continued to stare at her waiting for something to be said. An idea finally came into the Hylian Princess as she stepped next to Peach placing her hand on her shoulder.

"I thought of something."

Peach lifted her head. "What's that?"

"How about we make this a true battle?" Zelda suggested. "We fight like we're giving it all we got."

Peach thought about Zelda's offer, thinking it through while Bowser nodded to himself. He understood what Zelda explained. It would help their decision since the two couldn't come to an agreement. Just have a normal battle. Both of them fight each other as if their lives weren't on the line. In the end, it basically came down to who was better fighter.

Mario suddenly stood and turned leaving the room. Peach frowned as she watched him depart, before standing and facing Zelda. She smiled and held her hand out toward Zelda.

"Okay, I agree."

Zelda grabbed Peach's hand and shook it. "May the best woman win."

"Deal."

--------------------------------

Zelda and Peach both stood facing each other. Each princess was set at the end of the stage waiting for the announcer to initiate the battle. Their location was Yoshi's Island. It would be the last battle stage one of them would fight on. The thought was terrifying to know in just minutes one of them was going to die. One would be able to regroup with the other smashers and thankfully live another day, as oppose to the other who will wait in agony for their final hour to arrive.

They remembered the deal they agreed upon. They would fight each other giving the best they can. Two princesses would battle each other as if they were experiencing a normal match with high hopes of continuing in the tournament. Of course the stakes were raised and the prize was life. Peach tried hard to push away the fact that the loser won't make it out alive. Zelda could only think about her outcomes. She would either be able to see those who had already faced death or continue to live fighting in reality that has turned to hell.

"Ready.…"

Both girls hunched over as they continued to stare at each other. They were both ready, and fully charged for the battle. Their minds were set on winning, but it didn't stop either one of them for thinking about taking the fall. They waited impatiently for the final word to be called. It seemed forever before the word finally echoed into their ears causing both princesses to sprang into action.

The battle was fierce and competitive as each princess fought for their life. Zelda swiftly fired Din's Fire as Peach leaped into the air dodging her attack. She landed right in front of the Hylian Princess, and swung her arms around knocking Zelda back with the golf club.

Seconds steadily turned to minutes as the determined princesses began to show signs of weakening. Peach and Zelda's moves were both slow and enervated. They have moved the battle to the end of the stage were Peach almost slipped off but abruptly recovered.

Zelda lifted her arms into the air as she lunged forward colliding right into the other princess. Peach felt herself trip as they both fell back plummeting off the stage falling into the utter darkness beneath them.

Suddenly…

"Game!"

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Fox walked up to the monitor watching it carefully. The entire room sat in silence as they waited for the winner of the battle to return. It was a close match, and from what Popo had calculated both princesses were tied until the last moment. One princess had fallen first and lost the match, but whom?

The anticipation was building as Fox briefly looked back to the remaining survivors. Bowser and Mario had their eyes planted to screen while the Ice Climbers siblings talked softly to each other. Samus and Isolde both with similar distraught expressions across their face, waited impatiently. Marth had departed from the early searching for Pichu and Roy.

Suddenly someone had teleported back to the room causing everyone to hush. Fox stepped back as Peach almost collapsed in the room, but managed to regain her composure.

"Hurry!" She gasped.

Mario jumped over toward Mushroom Princess ecstatic that she was alive. "What's wrong?"

"We need to find Zelda." Peach exclaimed.

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The Hylian Princess found herself surrounded by darkness. She held her hands out in front of her as she paced around the area desperately searching for a light switch or anything for that matter. Her body briefly ached from the battle against Peach as her heart pounded against her chest. Her eyes failed to adjust to her surroundings causing her to panic.

"It is an honor, Princess Zelda."

Zelda immediately stopped. She took a deep breath searching for the person responsible for calling her. Nobody came into the picture, but someone came to mind.

"You…" She whispered.

The person chuckled. "Me? You know me?"

Zelda continued to search walking forward. "You're the murderer…" She was astonished at how her voice trembled.

"So you do know me…but let me ask you Zelda. Do you really know who I am?" The murderer questioned.

Zelda felt her hands collide into a cement cold wall. She turned around and leaned against her back feeling her heart begin to beat faster. Despite the fact that she was against something cold, her palms and forehead continued to sweat.

"I am the one who killed your friends. I am the one who put them through the torture, and agony they faced. I had made it so they wanted to kill themselves to just get away from the pain…"

Zelda shook her head as she felt her chest begin to burn. Her heart continued to pound as her upper body ached with every movement. She felt heat rising from her chest traveling up her throat causing her to fall to her knees.

"No…" She called. "Leave…me alone…"

"I am the one who decided their fate." The murderer continued with their previous rambling. The voice had gotten louder as if he was standing right near her. "I became their greatest fear. I became death."

Zelda felt her body begin to tremble as she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She began to have trouble breathing, taking quick short breaths. She never realized how terrifying it was to be alone with the murderer. The courage she developed when willing to throw her life away faded. The moment she heard his voice, her world turned upside down.

"How would like your death to be?" The question lingered in the air. "Would you like to suffer the same fate as previous friends? Would you like to have a knife at your throat slowly slicing the very skin cells that protect your body? Or would you like to be tortured having your body impaled or spine torn in two? You decide…"

It was just the thought of choosing death that caused Zelda to panic. It was an attack that occurred inside of her causing more pain than what the murderer was planning to do. She felt nausea; sick to her stomach. Her mind began to spin as her heart continued to burn. It was the fastest she believed her heart could ever pump and in one swift moment felt as if it had shattered into pieces.

Her mind had gone blank as the darkness fully consumed her. Her breath was drawn out in a heavy hoarse sound before she took her final breath.

" Who am I to call this one my death…" The murderer called out. "It was your own bodily functions that chose it for you."

Deep laughter echoed into the blackness surrounding her as it steadily faded leaving the princess in eternal slumber.

----------------------------------


	19. Chapter 18

Hello again, children. This is Herr, as you all know.

Sorry for the delay, but I haven't heard from BabyG, and since K.T.E. is nearing the completion of his next chapter I thought I'd post this anyway. Sorry, man. I know I shouldn't have. :(

But anyways, that's besides the point.

So here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 18

Fox, Bowser, and Mario ran down the halls as fast as they could, searching for one of the rooms that the murderer used.

The koopa's heart was beating wildly as the three of them ran down the hallways in their frantic search for Zelda. Nobody could blame him, actually; Peach's plea seemed dire and urgent.

And finding Zelda alive was the only thing that Bowser felt would help the princess. Not only was it a plea from a friend to a friend, but if Zelda was somehow alive the koopa felt that it was the only way he could apologize to the prince for his reaction to Ness' death.

So far, however, their search was proving useless. They had checked all of the old spots to see if the portals there would lead to the new room, but they had no idea where to go.

But the possibility that Zelda would somehow be alive was still very real, so the group ran as fast as they could.

Fox stopped abruptly at one point in their chase, though, and Mario tripped on the carpet as Bowser grinded to a halt and faced his vulpine companion.

"Fox!" shouted Bowser. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I think we're too late…" said Fox. "I can smell it."

"Smell what?" asked Mario.

"Fear," said the fox. "Death. I don't know. It's coming from in here."

He pointed at the door to what the other two people realized was Zelda's dorm.

Bowser wasted no time in running to the door and turning the knob, and when he found it to be locked he took a few steps back and rammed into the door. When the door fell from the force of Bowser's ramming into it, Fox and Mario stepping in the room after him.

The three of them found Zelda laying on the bed, her eyes wide open with a kind of shock that the three people that were looking on no doubt found terrifying. Her body also had the appearance of having a horrible death, with blood running from the princess' gaping mouth and her limbs bent in strange angles even for a contortionist.

When the three of them saw the princess of Hyrule, nobody moved.

Finally, Bowser punched the air hard.

"Damn it!" shouted the king. "We never make it on time!"

Fox and Mario didn't say anything; the two of them too busy staring at the blood running from Zelda's mouth.

"Fright," said Fox. "She died of fright. Look. Blood's running down her mouth."

"Meaning her heart exploded, right?" asked Mario.

"Yes," said Fox. "Damn it!"

The three of them were united in their frustration, and when they finally decided to leave the dorm they had their heads hanging from a subtle combination of frustration and grief.

* * *

Mario sat in the match lounge, with Isolde, Bowser Jr., and all of the remaining smashers sitting in a circle around a table. Bowser stood in front of the table, a somewhat paranoid stare beginning to show in his eyes. Isolde's arm wrapped itself around Marth's neck, but it was not like the swordsman knew what to do next.

"Okay," said Bowser. "I think we need to come to a decision here. This murderer isn't playing around anymore; he's pulling all the stops, and no matter what we do to try to save people he keeps coming back."

"Yes," said Marth. "And now we have to decide on something to do, right?"

"Indeed, Marth," said Bowser. "Now, first things first; no matter what happens, we're all that remains of the Super Smash Brothers, and we need to stick together. First thing I wanted to suggest; we will all trust each other with our lives. The murderer has framed several already, and I am not about to let it happen again. We will trust each other no matter what. Is this understood?"

People's reactions varied, but there was a general consensus of agreement in the group.

"Second," said the king. "We need to find a way to get to the victims sooner than we've been getting. In light of this, I do not think anybody should sit and watch the matches when they go on. We need—"

"But Bowser, they could suspect us of something," said Fox.

"Good point," said Peach, nodding towards the vulpine. "I say we have at least three people watching the matches, and then we do a rotational system where certain people hold on to a walkie-talkie and wait for a cue when they are not watching a match."

The king laid a hand on the table, humming a drone note as he stood.

"You have a point, actually;" stated the koopa. "Yes. I think that is a good idea. Anybody else agree?"

Another consensus of approval went around the group.

"Good," said Bowser. "Now, Marth, did you check the roster?"

"Yes," said the prince. "The next match… is Mario versus the Ice Climbers…"

"What?" asked Bowser. "But—!"

"I know, Bowser," said the plumber. "But honestly? I don't think we can make any more choices about who wins and who loses, because at this point only the valuable people are left."

"So why bother with the choices is what you're saying?" asked Popo, anger and fear glaring out in his expression. "But I want to live!"

"We all want to live!" said Marth. "But honestly, it is not much of an option for us to decide who dies and who lives anymore, because in the end, only one of us will make it out alive…"

"Who knows?" asked Isolde. "Some of us might get out of this alive. I only wish my father would let us out of this nightmare!"

"Forget it," said Pichu, the little mouse climbing onto Roy's hair. "At this point, your father can't do anything. Let's face it; we're trapped…"

"Indeed," said the prince of Altea. "By now, though, that has been established. So what can we do?"

Nobody said anything for a while.

And then, for the first time in the meeting, the prince of Pherea stood up.

"I think we should just do what Peach and Zelda did in the last fight; see who the better fighter is…" said Roy.

"I think so too…" stated the king. "At this rate, we can't choose who we want to live, and we certainly can't figure out how to save everybody, so let's see what we can do…"

"So, it's whoever the better fighter is, then?" asked Nana, shivering behind her older brother as the thought that she could die scared her to an obscene decree. "Popo, I'm scared!"

The older Ice Climber turned to his sister, patting her on the head.

"There, there," said Popo. "Being frightened never saved anybody's life…"

"So, do we battle to the death?" asked Mario, walking up to the two climbers and holding out his hand.

The young Ice Climber looked at his sister for a few seconds before turning to face the plumber and taking the older man's hand in his.

"Deal," said the child.

"I think we know what to do," said the king of the koopas. "This session is adjourned."

* * *

Mario stood on the teleportation pad, waiting for it to take him and the Ice Climbers to their next destination. For one of them, it would be the last thing they would see.

He pondered on plenty of things surrounding the match, and none of them were pretty. If the Ice Climbers were sentenced, it would mean that the children would be dead, and that Pichu would be all alone in the mansion. If Mario was killed, the investigation would be robbed of one of its key players. The plumber had a hard time deciding whether he should let the climbers live or if he should just let the fight play out.

In the end, Mario decided that the children needed to live; it might delay the inevitable later, but he knew that he could not forgive himself if he let the children die.

Finally, he felt himself warped to the arena.

It so happened that the arena was Mute City.

Mario prepared a fighting stance before rushing at the Ice Climbers, who were also ready.

The fight went on a long time, the plumber throwing a few punches here and there while letting himself take the brunt of the attacks from the Ice Climbers. Occasionally he would send the Ice Climbers flying, as he did not want to make it look like he was violating any promises at all.

And eventually, both fighters were at their last stocks, with the Ice Climbers somehow having taken the higher damage total over the course of the final stock. Mario knelt, panting as the racers continued their mindless race as the plumber knelt on the platform above the race. He knew that the Ice Climbers would put up a very good fight, but he had no idea that they would relent as much as he had. The plumber figured that perhaps the children wanted the plumber to live.

Whatever logic they used, Mario would not buy it.

And so, as the last of the races flew beneath them, Mario jumped down from the platform he was on onto the slippery surface below, the Ice Climbers following.

However, at this time the slim platform that would deliver the competitors from place to place had just risen, and Mario was unable to react before he felt the ground throw him up.

His world spun, and he finally landed on the central platform.

When he got up, he could not see his competitors from any angle he looked, but when he looked behind him, he noticed two children flying high in the sky.

"Shit…" muttered the plumber as the two children suddenly became stars.

"GAME!"

* * *

Isolde wandered the basement, the anger just beginning to fade.

During the match, the German had engaged in a heated argument between herself and her father, and unfortunately she was not able to do anything. She had basically tried to plead to cancel the tournament, even getting on her knees at one point to make her case. But in the end, Albrecht would not budge, so Isolde got angry at him and began yelling at him.

After they had yelled at each other for basically the rest of the match, the girl stormed out of his office, and she was now walking around in the basement, wondering if walking around in there would take her mind off of things.

She walked forward for a little, and then she came to rest on the wall that was there, leaning against it for support.

She had to think quite a bit; she had tried her best to get Albrecht to change his mind on keeping the tournament running, and yet he would not budge.

Isolde knew that it was not like her father to do such a thing. She pushed this out of her head, as she knew that it was the Super Smash Brothers and that it was a big tournament. But even though she pushed that thought out of her head, she could not help but linger on whether it actually was Albrecht that was running the tournament or not.

She had no time to ponder on it further, though, for she then felt herself fall through the wall, landing hard on her buttocks.

Isolde barely had time to think before she heard an ear-splitting crash right behind her.

The young German turned her head quickly, and then the lights came up in the room.

The sight that greeted her was not pretty. A car had somehow found its way into a room, and it had just crashed against the wall.

Crushed in between the wall was Nana, her blood beginning to form a huge pool on the ground beneath her. Off to the side lay Popo, who seemed dead enough to Isolde.

The German screamed and ran over to Popo, kneeling down by his side as she began to hyperventilate. She then looked at Nana, and she started crying.

She had not cried for one second before she heard a cough at her knees, however. When she looked down, Popo's eyes were open, and it was then that Isolde noticed that Popo was breathing weakly.

"Help…" said the young Ice Climber weakly.

Isolde celebrated to herself, but she knew that Popo could die if she delayed any longer.

Thus, she picked up the young boy and started for the white screen that she saw in the room.

When she walked outside of the white screen, she found herself in the hospital wing.

_Even better…_ thought Isolde. _At least with this we can be certain that he will be treated right away._

And so Isolde laid the young Ice Climber on the bed, and then she ran to the lobby of the hospital wing to inform somebody that there was a boy in desperate need of treatment.

* * *

A few hours later, the chaos that had taken hold of the medical wing with Popo's arrival in it had subsided.

All of the remaining smashers stood by the bed in which Popo laid in. Bowser was simply standing there shaking his head in untold anger, the others not even daring to say anything until Popo woke up.

Isolde had gone back to get Nana, but by the time she had returned the young girl was dead. The murderer had claimed one of the Ice Climbers, and maybe it would pacify the murderer's thirst for blood. But until they knew for sure, the smashers knew that they could not take their chances; Ness had survived his match, after all, which increased the likelihood of the murderer doing the same to Popo.

And it was a frightening prospect, actually; if Popo survived, he would be the only child in the organization left alive. The poor kid would have been through everything if he made it out alive, and while that was kind of the point of the investigation, the smashers found themselves wondering if there would not be scars afterwards.

They had been so concentrated on keeping the smashers alive that they hadn't really thought of the repercussions of what might happen if they actually survived. They could be left horribly disfigured, or they could be haunted for the rest of their lives. Nobody really knew what would happen, though, so it was a minimal worry in all reality. Still, it was not very far from the smasher's minds.

So the smashers stood in front of Popo's bed. The heart monitor beeped steadily, but all eyes were on the monitor, everybody expecting Popo to flat line at any time. Some also watched the steady rise and fall of his chest as he lay in the bed, but all attention was on the heart monitor.

Finally, though, Peach, who had been looking at Popo's still form, noticed the boy's eyes beginning to flicker open.

"He's waking up!" she exclaimed excitedly.

All eyes instantly averted from the heart monitor to the boy himself, all of them wearing expectant expressions on their faces.

And then, Popo's cerulean eyes opened out to the world once more.

The excitement that went through the room at that moment was somehow contained, but the energy was felt throughout the mansion at how relieved and excited everybody was that Popo had cheated death. It was through a miracle that everybody kept their composure, Bowser looking down at him.

"Are you okay?" asked Bowser.

"Yeah…" said Popo softly. "I'm fine."

"Great," said Bowser. "Welcome back to the team, man."

"I'm glad I'm still alive…" said Popo. "I guess you have questions?"

"Yes," said Bowser. "Now, firstly, did you see the murderer?"

The Ice Climber's brow furrowed a little before he looked up at the rest of the smashers.

"No…" he responded. "I think the windows of the car were painted black. And then Isolde came in from a different direction, and that's all I remember before she picked me up."

The king of the koopas swore inwardly, and then his gaze went back to Popo's.

"Why?" asked Bowser. "Why didn't you run faster?"

"I couldn't," said the Ice Climber. "That murderer is more intimidating than you think. Nana was rooted to the spot, and if she had budged when I tried to pull her we would both be alive."

"I see…" said Bowser. "That will be all."

The king walked out of the room rather slowly, Isolde, Mario, and Fox filing out after him as the other smashers began to ask some questions to Popo.

Bowser stopped outside of the room that Popo had been admitted in.

"Have we won?" asked Isolde. "Have we finally gotten somebody to cheat death?"

"It's probable," said Bowser. "You walked in before the murderer had the chance to make sure that Popo was dead, so he probably doesn't know he's safe."

"Which means we've won!" said Fox, raising his arms up in triumph.

"Yeah," said Mario. "But there's something odd about this."

"And what's that?" asked Bowser.

"Isolde, you said you found them, right?" asked the plumber.

"Yes," said Isolde. "I assume you're going to ask how I got there so quickly?"

"Yes, actually," said Mario.

"I don't know…" said Isolde. "I was walking in the basement, and I was leaning on one of the walls to rest when…"

The girl stopped mid-sentence, her train of thought getting a very rude interruption.

"What?" asked Bowser. "What's up?"

Isolde's expression of shock turned into one of great jubilation.

"I found it!" she shouted. "I know how we can get there faster!"

"What?" asked Fox. "How? Tell us!"

"I was leaning on a wall of the basement when suddenly it gave away!" shouted the German excitedly. "That's it! There's a wall in the basement that takes a person to the nearest murder room! I know how we can get there faster!"

"So we send people to the basement and walkie-talkie them there just before the murderer kills someone?" asked Mario.

"Why didn't we think about that before?" asked Bowser.

"Because we didn't know there was that wall," said Isolde. "But you have to see it for yourself. Come on!"

The girl skipped along merrily, the other three struggling to keep up with her as she ran to the basement.

* * *

Popo sat up in bed later that day, enjoying a nice little cheeseburger prepared by Isolde. They decided to go against the celebration this time; it was what ultimately killed Ness, and besides the young Ice Climber still needed a long time before he could get out of bed.

But that did not stop Bowser, Mario, Fox, Isolde, or Marth from sitting around the bed eating with Popo. Everybody else treated themselves to a celebratory dinner, but the five of them simply settled with dining with Popo.

A pretty lively conversation had been going amidst the group; everybody was pretty confident that they had finally found a way to outsmart the murderer and save all of the remaining smashers, and plus they had managed to save one of their own in finding out exactly how. It was pretty easy for one to get confident, and while they knew that they still had to keep their guard up it would be easier to do so.

So they sat, merrily eating and conversing, and while Nana was not far from their minds they had to keep in mind that if they managed to save anybody else, then her death would not be in vain.


	20. Chapter 19

Author: This project I have been working on for quite some time in secret has finally been brought to the world

Author: Yo, KILL THE EMPIRE here writing another chapter of _La Belle_, I hope you enjoy my chapter. Oh, by the way, I hope you like plot twists!

"So…" Bowser lightly tapped on the gray wall lying in the basement, "This is the phantom wall that'll take us to the murder spots?"

"Yes, it's the wall that gave way while I was in the basement," Isolde replied with a nod.

Bowser nodded as well and tried to push his way through the wall, but failed. He growled and pounded the wall with his fist. "Argh! What's wrong with this stupid thing?" His impulsive anger rose.

"Isolde, are you sure this is the right wall?" Fox asked.

"Yes, I'm positive." Isolde began to press on the wall, but it also refused to budge. She became astonished.

"Perhaps it's broken." Mario suggested.

"Or maybe it won't work until someone looses a match," Peach guessed.

"What ever it is, we found it," Bowser said with a sigh of relief. "Now, all we have to do is wait until the match is over, and then rush in there and save the victim. And if we can, try and catch the murderer!"

"Sounds like a good plan." Mario complimented Bowser.

"Thanks, I'm personally waiting for this moment because I can't wait till I get my hands on that bastard."

The investigation group made their way out of the basement and into the lobby to wait.

"So who's going to fight tomorrow?" Isolde asked.

Fox went pale. "Uh oh…" Everybody turned to him.

"What's wrong, Fox?"

"I have to fight Samus tomorrow." Fox replied. The others frowned. "Yeah, I know, I bet after the stunt with Ganondorf she wants to tear us a new one."

"Well, don't die on us, it'd be a shame for us to loose you," Bowser said with a smile.

"But then Samus would die…Why are you smiling?" Peach asked.

"Because once one of you two loses, I'll finally be able to meet this murderer."

"Don't get your hopes up, what if the murderer knows what we're planning and alters things around?" Mario asked.

"Well if what Isolde says is true, then I don't think there's much the murderer can do. I mean he can't exactly choose where the rooms will teleport, how else will he get there?" Bowser asked. "The only people who can honestly know how to get around like that and be sure of where they'll end up are Albrecht and…" Bowser gapped.

"What's wrong Bowser?" Peach asked. Bowser swiftly turned to Isolde and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Isolde, did Albrecht build this mansion?" Bowser screamed while shaking the poor girl.

"No, father ordered a couple of men to build it. Actually one of the construction workers is here." Isolde quickly muttered with a shaky voice.

"Who?"

"The caretaker, Sergio." Isolde replied. Bowser gasped. "What's wrong?"

"That creep, Sergio! I don't trust him!" Bowser growled.

"But he and Father have been working together for years. They're like best friends. What's not to trust about him?"

"I don't know…I just don't know…" Bowser bowed his head down. "Listen everybody, I've been thinking about these murders…"

"What about them?" Peach asked.

"Look what the murders have been doing to us? If we survive this mess, who's to say we won't be haunted by this?" Bowser proceeded to explain, "I mean look at Popo, he didn't even cry over his own sister's death! We've all become desensitized!"

"Desensitized?" Isolde scratched her head.

"Yeah, it means we've all become so used to these murders it barely effects us anymore. For Christ's sakes I haven't been thinking about Pikachu, Mewtwo, Luigi, Captain Falcon, or anyone for the past few days. The only person we think about is the latest victim, and that's all."

And then it hit them. There was a long pause.

"He's right," Mario broke the long pause, "I mean after someone dies, they're only thought about for a few days, and then when the next person dies, it's as if they were a vague memory."

"What has happened to us?" Peach trembled in horror.

They all stood, bowing their heads, saying nothing. Just thinking of the past, thinking of those who had been mercilessly slaughtered like lamps. All for what, loosing a simple match? They dubbed it insane, and refused to believe it until they realized they truly forgot about the departed. The mystical pause left them all skeptical of what was going through Bowser's mind. He stood his head up and turned to walk away.

"Where are you going, Bowser?" Fox asked.

"I think I want to take a walk." Bowser muttered before he left.

All of this was getting to him, but he had to stay strong. He was the one who lead the investigation, and he can't let anyone down. But that wasn't the only thing on his mind, he had been thinking about Sergio lately, despite how he dismissed him as a murderer earlier. Second thoughts were popping up in his mind, and he needed to have a talk with him.

Before he knew it, he was at the foot of Sergio's room. He didn't even bother knocking. The dark figure turned his head to face the king of the Koopa's.

"Bowser, what a pleasant surprise," Sergio said with a friendly smile, but Bowser's face was stern. "What's wrong?"

"Don't give me that crap!" The koopa king growled. "I know the truth now."

"What ever do you mean?"

"One day a man with a passion for fighting had arrived in this world with hopes of creating the greatest tournament on Earth…" Bowser said as he marched up to Sergio with a look of intense hatred in his eyes. "He started out small with illegal street fights, and slowly made his way to world class Martial Arts tournaments…"

The pale man gave a look of confusion, wondering why Bowser was approaching him with such intensity in his eyes.

"And then the man had met someone who helped him with his tournaments. The two became best friends and eventually they became the proud hosts of the greatest tournament on Earth." Bowser finished his story. "Sergio, you and Albrecht are those proud hosts."

"Yes, that is correct."

"But somewhere along the lines you were left out of the picture. It no longer became Albrecht and Sergio's tournament. No, the tournament was proudly hosted by Albrecht himself, and Sergio is just another care taker. Is that correct?"

"I have no idea where you're going with this!" Sergio's voice began to rise, "But I do not appreciate this one bit! True things went wrong and I ended up down here as a worker, but I have been loyal to Albrecht for ten years, and despite how I'm no longer a host, I'm still important to him."

"But all the money was going to him and you were loosing your share of the cut!" Bowser growled, "You must have been angry about this!"

"No, there were a few minor complications, but as you may notice, I'm his right hand man. He depends on me!" Sergio called in an attempt to defend himself.

"Which means you have him right where you want him! So what would happen if his tournament was a disaster? What if people started dieing?" Bowser had thrust his finger at the pale man, "You would be the next host while Albrecht would fall!"

"Are you accusing me of these murders?" Sergio asked in an abrupt voice. "I'm innocent!"

"Bullshit! You had to of been the murderer, then not only would you become the new host, but you'd also get the money Albrecht rightfully owes you!" Bowser smirked, "I guess you are as pathetic as you look."

"HOW DARE YOU!" Sergio exploded in anger. His pale face had turned red immediately. "HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF BEING A BACK STABBER! HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF BETRAYING MY BEST FRIEND! AND HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF MURDER!" Bowser had never expected Sergio to get so upset, "GET OUT!"

In one swift motion, Bowser jumped with one hand out and thrusted it upon Sergio's neck. "YOU MURDERER!" he screamed. Sergio's facial expression turned from anger to shock. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Sergio's body began to rise in the air as Bowser tightened his grip. "YOU KILLED OUR BEST FRIENDS! YOU KILLED THE INSPECTOR, AND YOU KILLED THE GOD DAMNED CHILDREN!" Sergio tried to gasp for breath, "AND WHAT ABOUT ROY! I'VE SEEN YOU AROUND HIM, YOU'RE MANIPULATING HIM, AREN'T YOU!"

Sergio's body began to violently shake. His struggling only seemed to make matters worse. "AND WHAT ABOUT ISOLDE? WHAT DID YOU PLAN ON DOING TO HER AFTER YOU GOT RID OF HER FATHER? KILL HER TOO?" Bowser's rage had finally blinded him, for he didn't see Sergio turn blue. He could only grasp on to Bowser's claw for so long, for his grapple had overpowered the tiny man.

Just then, a red headed man had walked by the door and turned his head to take notice of the situation at hand.

"B-Bowser?" he stuttered. "What are you doing?"

"Roy?" Bowser turned his head just now noticing Roy becoming a witness of the event taking place. The redheaded teen stood staring with mix of bewilderment and astonishment. "He's the murder!" Bowser snapped.

Roy immediately shook his head. "No." He whispered. "He can't be. Sergio has been helping me." Roy explained. He opened his mouth to speak once more, but hunched over grabbing his head as if someone was tightly squeezing it never letting go. "W-Why are you doing this?" He blinked back the tears trying to escape.

"Because he is the one killing everybody," Bowser replied keeping his grip on Sergio. "He is manipulating you Roy. You need to understand!"

"No…" Roy took a deep breath as a few tears escaped rolling down his reddened cheeks. "He isn't the murderer…"

Bowser huffed hating to argue with the smasher at a time like this. "Roy, you need to understand. My guess is that he is blaming the murders on you!"

"But it's wrong….even if he did do it."

It was time to use reason over power. He couldn't believe Roy was being so shallow. "Roy, this man killed an entire family. He has killed our friends, our allies, our fellow smashers. He has taken innocent lives and their deaths must not be in vain. He must now pay," Bowser turned back to Sergio, who was an inch a way from losing consciousness. Bowser growled. "I shall bring him to justice with my bare hands!"

"No…" Roy fell to his knees dropping his hand to his side. "Please! Stop it!"

"Good-bye Sergio," Bowser spat feeling his grip tighten.

"No…" Roy muttered. His head pounded harder, the tears rolled faster, he could only bare so much. "Stop it…STOP IT…._STOP IT!_

Bowser's eyes shot open as pain shot through his body faster than lightning. Everything seemed to stop the moment he understood what occurred. Roy stood a few inches behind him holding the sword that was responsible for impaling the giant lizard in the back. Only his heartbeat was heard faintly echoing through out his ear. The pain was unbearable as Bowser found himself unable to move. He felt his grip loosen watching Sergio's body lifelessly fell to the floor.

"Wh…why…"

Bowser opened his mouth as the unpleasant feeling of blood lifted from the back of his throat dripping out of his mouth. What did do wrong to deserve an outcome like this? Why was it so hard to understand that he was trying to help? He was determined to bring peace back to the tournament. He wanted to make sure that the lives of the fellow departed smashers were not in vain. Was it so wrong? He felt himself become powerless and at that moment he was terrified. He was completely scared still confounded of the sudden reality that was taking place.

He managed to turn to Roy expressing nothing but despair, who stepped back as if a ghost magically appeared. His face was pale and full of anxiety. Bowser's world blackened as his body fell to the ground next to Sergio.

Roy quickly backed up and stared at the bodies in horror. "What have I done?" He screamed and tears began to pour out of the red head's eyes. "HELP! HELP!"

He screamed as loud as he could until Fox and Mario ran into the room.

"Roy, what's wrong- OH MY GOD!" Fox screamed as he looked at the panicking Roy. "What happened?"

Roy didn't say anything; he just stood in place as if he was paralyzed. The only thing he could do was stand with the shocked expression on his face while muttering, in between sniffles, "I didn't mean to…"

Soon the whole investigation team was there, witnessing the breakdown of Roy. Peach eventually approached him with a comforting embracement. As soon as she touched him, he collapsed into Peach's shoulders, crying even harder, continuously muttering "I didn't mean to…I'm sorry…" The only thing Peach could do was sympathetically rub the red headed swordsman's back as he continued to release his tears of sorrow.

…_Ugh…_

"He's waking up!"

…_Where am I?_

"Bowser! Are you alright?"

The blinding light finally overtook Bowser's eyes as he slowly revealed them to the world. He looked up to see Fox and Mario looking down at him.

"Hey man, you alright?" Fox asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Bowser mumbled, "But how's Sergio?"

"He's fine, just got winded a little and passed out." Mario said with a smirk, "Damn dude, what did he do to you?"

"I don't know. One thing led to another, and I attacked him." Bowser groaned while gripping his forehead, "I thought he was the murderer and freaked out."

"Now what happened to 'no more lashing out at accused suspects'"? Fox asked as he crossed his arms.

"Something came over me." Bowser groaned again. "Man is he around somewhere, I want to apologize."

"He'll be around for you to apologize." Albrecht walked in the room casually, "But first I'm afraid I cannot constrain Roy any longer. He's about to explode if he doesn't apologize."

"Sure thing, send him in."

No sooner when he said that, a burst of red light swarmed the room and soon the red head was on his knees at the foot of Bowser's bed, screaming "OH MY GOD BOWSER I AM SO SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN IT! IF THERE'S ANYTHING I CAN DO, JUST NAME IT!"

"Relax, relax, chill out, dude." Bowser said weakly, "its fine. I deserved it."

"I KNOW, BUT-

"Look, you saved Sergio's life. I think it's he that owes you the servility." Bowser gave a warm gentle smile and struggled to pat Roy on the head. Roy wiped a tear from his eye and stood up. "Look, I overreacted."

"Overreact much?" Marth asked as he walked in the room, alongside with Isolde.

"Just a little." Bowser let out a small laugh.

"Well you need your rest." Albrecht said. He then turned to the investigation team. "Guys, there is something I must show you."

"Sure thing," Fox said. "We'll catch ya later Bowser, get well soon!"

"Don't worry; I'll be out in no time!"

The investigation team left with Albrecht. As soon as they exited the hospital wing, the light expression on his face turned into a dark frown.

"Guys, I know things have been confusing about the whole 'why can I not cancel the tournament' and 'why can't we get out' stuff." He said, "And I believe I have no choice but to show you right now."

"What's wrong?" Mario asked.

"I believe there's more to this then a few uncharted rooms in this mansion." Albrecht's voice turned darker.

"Where are we headed?" Marth asked.

Albrecht lead the smashers to the front door of the mansion. "Recently I haven't let anybody exit the mansion. Now what you are about to see may startle you, but don't freak out."

The smashers braced themselves for what was to come, but they never expected what was on the other side of the door. The old German slowly opened the door, and everybody gasped. The sky around the mansion was a dark purple, and after a few steps, there was nothing. Somehow the mansion had been floating over a pit.

"Holy hell!" Fox screamed. Mario took a step outside and gazed over the pit, only to find boiling lava waiting from what seemed to be thousands of feet below.

"Again," Started the Italian plumber, "Where is this mansion supposed to be located?"

"I could have sword there was a garden around here somewhere!" Marth scoffed. "What the hell kind of trick is this?"

"It's an illusion, cast by somebody specialized in dark magic." Albrecht said, as if he was not surprised by the reactions. "Sergio has been investigating this, and he's studied dark magic before. This is an illusion."

"If it's an illusion, then can't we just walk out of here?" Mario asked.

"Go ahead and see what happens." Fox smirked.

"No, the illusion lasts until the user runs out of magic, or the user is killed." The German Continued.

"So you're saying this murderer is using dark magic?" Fox asked, "Come on, this is so unreal, how is this possible?"

"Well think about it, how can Popo and Nana get in a car accident inside the mansion?" Albrecht asked, "And notice when you go through those phantom walls, we cannot find you. Obviously those walls are taking us somewhere else."

"You mean these murders weren't happening inside the mansion?" Isolde asked.

"Correct. These murders have been occurring in another dimension." Albrecht said, "I'm afraid this guy has the ability to open rifts in time and send us to another world for the sole purpose of killing us."

"Dear God!" Isolde cowered in Marth's arms. "Who could possess such a power?"

"I don't know, but upon investigating one of the rooms, we managed to find this." Albrecht dug into his pocket and pulled out a glimmering gem. "Somebody lost a piece of their jewelry."

Marth took it. "Hmm, looks like a sort of decoration."

"Who ever the murderer is, they sure have good taste." Fox said as he gazed closer at the gleaming stone.

"I'm afraid until we find out who's behind all this; we are unable to escape this mansion." Albrecht turned to leave. "Oh, and here's the funny thing, this has no effect on the T.V broadcasting of the tournament." He chuckled and headed off.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm afraid I have to tell Bowser how bad of a condition he is in." Albrecht sighed, "It's not good, and my only regret is not having somebody with me to hold him down. He's not going to like this one bit."

"Oh boy…"

Bowser groaned as he struggled to roll over. "Argh! How bad did Roy hit me?"

"I'm afraid it's not good." Albrecht walked in holding a clip board.

"So how bad is the damage?" Bowser asked. Albrecht frowned.

"I'm afraid he managed to rip through your vertebrae column, and heavily damaged the sacrum area. Not to mention there's intense trauma in the coccyx. In other words, he penetrated your spinal cord so bad, you're pretty much screwed."

"Oh man, so what does that mean?"

"I'm afraid there's no easy way of telling you."

"Go ahead, I can take it."

Albrecht threw aside the clip board and laid a hand on the koopa's shoulder. "I'm afraid you only have forty percent body functions. You can only stand for two hours max, and lift about thirty pounds at the most. I'm afraid you'll be like this for the rest of your life. I'm sorry."

Reality struck Bowser faster than a moving bullet. His heart completely dropped to the emptiness of his stomach as Albrecht's words settled in steadily. The first immediate reaction that exploded inside of Bowser was anger.

"What? Are you serious?"

"I'm afraid so."

Bowser couldn't let this happen. "What am I going to do for the tournament?"

"I'm going to have to disqualify you."

His anger soon subsided as he could no longer fight off the dejection that urged to take over. Everything was lost at once in a swift moment that could have easily been avoided. Everything he worked for and strived to complete was suddenly slipping out of his hands down a darkened path never to be retreated. How is he supposed to help out being crippled? What could he possibly accomplish by sitting in a bed?

Hope became a foreign word to Bowser as he refused to wipe the tears that escaped his eyes. It was uncommon for him to be easily upset, but reality hit him hard within the stomach briefly knocking the air out of him.

"I'm sorry; we did the best we could." Albrecht bowed his head. Bowser stood still, his mouth wide open, letting the tears slowly trickle down his cheeks.

"No…This can't be!" Bowser finally said.

"I'm sorry…"

"There's got to be some way!"

Albrecht repeated his apology. "You're permanently disabled. You will never be able to fight again."

"But what about the tournament? The murderer? WHAT ABOUT MY CHANCE TO LIVE?"

"Well technically you're not fighting. Meaning you will indeed live." Albrecht said. "You have to fight and loose to get murdered."

"But it doesn't matter! I want to find this murderer!"

"You can't!"

"You can't disqualify me!" Bowser screamed. "If I sit here and watch my friends die like this, I don't know how I'll live with myself!"

"But unlike your friends, you will have a chance to live!" Albrecht screamed. "Listen, it's good to value other people's lives, but it's no good if your own life is in danger! You have to think about what's best for you!"

"I DON'T GIVE A FLYING FUCK ABOUT WHAT'S BEST FOR ME! I WATCHED A TEN YEAR OLD CHILD DIE! I WATCHED A CHILD DIE IN FRONT OF ME! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

"GOD DAMMIT BOWSER DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? A DOOR HAS BEEN SHUT, AND A NEW DOOR HAS OPENED! A DOOR IN WHICH THE OTHERS WILL NEVER HAVE THE INSIGHT TO KNOW! A DOOR THAT LEADS TO LIFE! A DOOR THAT LEADS TO PEACE! I OFFER YOU A PATH OF LIFE, AND YOU SIT HERE AND SAY NO! HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALLUS OF YOUR OWN DAMN LIFE?"

"SO YOU WANT ME TO SIT HERE AND WATCH MY FRIENDS GET SLAUGHTERED LIKE HELPLESS ANIMALS? I DON'T WANT TO LIVE IF THAT'S THE CASE! SHUT YOUR DOOR!"

Albrecht stood back, angry. "Do you really want to do this?"

"I'd rather die than to live knowing I never had a chance. I'd rather die fighting." Bowser growled. "Because if I lived, then it would haunt me for the rest of my life."

"You do realize that there is no way in hell that you will live through the next round, right?"

"If the last thing I ever see is the eyes of a murderer, then so be it." Bowser's breathing got heavy.

"Careful not to overexert yourself," Albrecht quickly ran over to the machine Bowser was hooked up to and pressed and flipped a few switches. "Now listen, if you want to continue fighting and die, then I have no right to step in. Just remember, you were my favorite smasher. I always hoped you'd live."

And with that, he turned to walk out of the door. Soon Albrecht's presence was replaced by the investigation team.

"Bowser you'll never believe this, but we're screwed!" Fox screamed as he ran in. He noticed the flushed cheeks on Bowser's face. "Dude, have you been crying?"

Bowser let out a small sniffle. As much as he wanted to meet this murderer, he honestly did not want to die.

"Sorry guys," Bowser slowly wiped a tear from his eyes, "I'm afraid I can no longer assist you in the investigation."

"Why's that?" Marth asked.

Sergio walked into the room "I'm afraid he's permanently disabled."

"What!" Fox screamed. "How the hell did that happen?"

"It seems Roy's attempt to save me went a little too far." Sergio said with a small frown. "Don't worry, Bowser, I'll be sure to take good care of you. If you ever need anything, just let me know."

Mario raised an eye brow. "Why are you doing this?"

"I do feel ashamed for the way this turned out. I want to help him as much as I can." The pale man said with a smile, "Is there anything you need?"

"After all of this," Bowser smirked, "I could use a drink."

Fox and Mario waited in the battle arena. The fight between Fox and Samus was about to start, and Mario wanted to give some encouragement to Fox.

"I don't think I can do this." Fox took a deep breathe. All of this pressure was beginning to get to him.

"I'm sure you can handle her. No offence, but she IS a woman." Mario smirked.

"Not funny!" Fox growled, "You don't understand, she probably wants to kill me after what we did to Ganondorf."

"Why would she hold this grudge against us?" Mario asked. Then a thought had occurred, "Hey wait, you don't think…Samus had, you know…Feelings…For him?"

"I wouldn't put it past me." Samus said as she walked into the room. The two males were startled. "Sorry to scare you guys."

"Hey Samus, what's up?" Fox asked.

"I know we all had some differences, and I have been rather cold towards you guys, but I wanted to let you know that if I were to die, please know that I died in peace." She said. "I let everything go, and I want to finish this day either knowing I'm alive, or die knowing I'm at peace."

"That's very brave of you, but you talk as if you'll loose." Fox said.

"Yeah, don't act like that." Mario smiled. "Look, if you win, you can take Fox's spot. We have been lacking in the women department, what with Zelda's death and all."

"MARIO!" Fox screamed.

"It's okay; we do need to lighten up. Things have been a little too depressing, even for my taste." Samus giggled. "Well, good luck, Fox."

"You too."

Samus drew closer to embrace Fox, then Mario, right before she left. Mario blushed and looked at Fox. "I think she likes you."

Fox blushed, "Shame we have to fight to the death…Hey, where's Peach. I haven't seen her all day."

"She's been with Popo, keeping him company." Mario replied. "I think the two have a T.V in their room, along with Bowser and Sergio."

"At least they won't miss the match."

Roy walked into the room. "Umm hey guys."

"Oh, hey Roy, what's up?" Mario asked.

"Well, umm…After what happened, I think I want to help you guys out." Roy stuttered. "Please, I want to atone for what I did!"

Fox and Mario looked at each other. "I don't know," Fox started, "You have been a little weird lately. How do we know you won't freak out on us?"

"I know how I've been lately, but I want to help. I can't sit around and watch my friends die." Roy stated, "Besides, I can fight!"

Mario sighed. "…Alright, you can help."

"Really?"

"Yeah, besides, if you're able to take Bowser down like that, then I'm sure you can take out the murderer easily." Fox smirked. The two patted Roy on the shoulder, and gave him a radio. "Alright, if any paths open, then go through them and inform us immediately!"

"Gotcha!" Roy took the radio with glee and was soon headed off.

"You know," Fox glanced at Mario, "He's so lively when he's not sleeping."

Mario chuckled.

"3"

Fox and Samus stared long and hard at each other.

"2"

They both knew this would be the last time one would see each other. But this time was different. They were sure to get the murderer now.

"1"

The two smashers took their battle stance, ready to give it all they've got.

"GO!"

Samus took off in a blaze of light, sending missiles in every way she could to try and hit the shined blind Fox. The fox replied by holding up his reflector shield, deflecting all of Samus's projectiles back at her. She managed to dodge each one with the grace of a dancer.

"Damn, "She muttered to herself, "I can't touch him with my projectiles…"

Fox saw an opening and swiftly sent her flying off of the stage. Upon coming back, Samus landed and held up her hand to indicate a time out.

"What's wrong?" Fox asked.

"I cannot win like this." She proclaimed. She than held out her right wrist and pressed a small green button. The suit began to light up, and soon fell off. "That's better."

"What the hell?" Fox was shocked at the presence. Samus threw off her power suit, and was now much swifter; almost as swift as Fox. The battle raged on. After a long hard battle, it was now down to the final stock. Samus ran towards Fox for a final blow, but Fox parried with his arm and followed it with a devastating kick to the face, which sent Samus off the stage, and into the black abyss.

The crowd cheered, and instead of smiling, Fox quickly pulled out his radio and screamed "GO!"

Roy leaned against the basement, yawning. He knew this would take a while, but it was allot longer than expected. Than out of nowhere, a white screen materialized. "Huh?" Roy scratched his head. He than took out his radio. "Yo, Fox, I got the white screen."

"Alright," The radio blared, "Go in there and make sure Samus gets out of there alive!"

Roy nodded and rushed through the white screen. What lay on the other side was nothing Roy expected. A long narrow corridor, with a purple aura emitting out of the walls. "Whoa…Am I in the Twilight Zone?" There was a low whale coming from the end of the dark corridor. "Ahh!" Roy held his arms up as if he was defending himself from something. He slowly lowered his arms and burst out running.

"That was quite a match, wasn't it Bowser?" Sergio asked.

"Yeah, I can't believe Samus had such power. If only she were on the investigation team." Bowser replied. He looked up at Sergio, "Hey, thanks for taking care of me."

"No problem." Sergio smiled. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom."

Bowser dismissed him, and turned his attention back to the television, which showed replays of Fox's match. It amazed Bowser at how much he saw, and how much the viewers saw. "Man, all they see are two people fighting for a silly tournament, while we see a battle between life and death." He shook his head, "Damn you, murderer." He muttered.

The replays on the television blurred out and changed automatically to a picture of Samus tied up to a chair.

"What the hell!" Bowser screamed. "Samus!"

She was bound by ropes and gagged by a sock and duct tape. In front of her was a huge device with a timer on it marking fifteen minutes. Bowser gasped and quickly reached for his radio. "Guys! Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, what's up?" The voice of Fox came out of the radio.

"Guys, Samus is on the television! She's bound in a room with a time bomb in it set to go off in fifteen minutes!" Bowser screamed.

"You're seeing this on T.V?" Fox screamed. "Oh my God!"

"Wait, so this is being broadcasted live?" Mario's voice screamed. "What kind of cruel bastard is this?"

"This is Roy; I'm running as fast as I can!" Roy's voice screamed. "I'm in some weird world with this purple aura around! There are markings on the wall!"

Roy quickly put his radio away and continued running. He turned a corner and the markings turned into red stains. "Huh?" The crimson red stains were splattered everywhere, on the floor, the ceiling, and the walls, everywhere Roy's eyes met. "Umm guys, why is there blood everywhere?"

"What do you mean?" Mario's voice asked.

"There's blood all over this place, it's like someone was slaughtered here. Ugh! It smells! This guy must be some kind of sadist!"

He turned a corner and continued to run. Time was running out, so he decided to dismiss the awful smell. After a few more corners, he saw a huge shadow. He drew closer and closer to the big shadow, and turned the corner to scream.

"Roy, what's wrong?" Marth's voice screamed.

"OH MY GOD!" Roy screamed.

"Roy! Are you okay?" Marth's voice screamed again, "Roy, I'm coming in there!"

"Roy, what the hell is wrong!" Fox screamed.

Roy screamed again at what was in front of him. A huge wooden cross stared down at the red head, baring the flesh of all who have died. All of the corpses were staring coldly at Roy, as if they were accusing him of an evil deed. Captain Falcon's head was separated from his body, but still there. Young Link's body was dangling on the side, with no bag on his head. Roy could no longer look at his dead companions, or at the bloody mess.

He couldn't help but notice the wall above the cross. On the wall was a message reading "_GOD WILL NOT SAVE YOU!_"

He collapsed on his knees, gripping his head. Soon he heard someone's feet pounding as heavily as the breathing.

"Roy!" Marth called from the other side, "Roy, are you alright?"

The blue headed swordsman showed up to see Roy collapsed on the ground. "Marth," Fox's voice screamed through the radio, "Marth, is he okay?"

Marth pulled out his radio in time to scream at the cross. "Holy crap!" Marth screamed, "Yeah, Roy's fine, but he needs somebody to get him out of here."

"Why?" Fox's voice asked.

"You'll see. And make sure Isolde does not come with you! What ever you do, she is not allowed to come!" Marth screamed. He looked down at Roy's collapsed body. "Don't worry, you'll be safe…I understand you fainting at a time like this, I almost lost my lunch." He muttered.

He looked ahead of the cross and saw a crack in the wall. A shadow was at the end wall. "Hey!" Marth screamed as he pulled out his sword.

He ran down the hall and watched the shadow take off running. He turned down many paths and turns, making sure not to loose sight of the shadow. His heart was racing, and his breathing heavy, but he got closer and closer until…"HOLY SHIT!" Fox's voice screamed "IS THIS SOME KIND OF SICK JOKE?"

"Do you think you can get Roy out of there?" Marth asked.

"Yeah, that's no problem, but how am I going to sleep tonight?" Fox screamed.

"Oh dear God!" Bowser's voice screamed. "Fox, I see you! This is being broadcasted live on T.V!"

"What!" Fox screamed. "You've got to be kidding me! Is this guy trying to fuck with us?"

Marth shut the radio off and continued to run. He lost sight of the shadow. "Damn…" He finally stopped to catch his breath. Now he had the time to notice what kind of place he was at. There seemed to be a puddle of water in front of him. He looked closer to examine it, and jumped when he saw a figure jump across the puddle. He quickly looked up to see a crack in the ceiling. He continued to run ahead, keeping an eye up on the ceiling to see if he could catch a glimpse of the lurching figure.

Eventually a shadow jumped down and ran down the hall around a corner. The shadow seemed to have stopped. "Finally." Marth muttered to himself. He slowed down and changed his walking into a small gale.

He slowly drew closer around the corner, gripping his sword, ready to pounce the figure. His heart continued to race, his hands were shaking; he could barely control his breathing, and drew closer, and closer…

_BANG!_

Everything went black. The lights swiftly disappeared, and Marth stood still. He could see nothing, not even his own hands. There was the sound of water splashing quickly, and stopping in front of Marth. Marth tried to scream, but his voice was stuck in his throat, sweat rolled down his forehead, and he could barely prevent himself from whimpering.

There was a deep, low laughter surrounding him, taunting him, torturing him with the endless laughter. The laughter stopped, and the lights clicked on. There were no more shadows, only the corner Marth was about to turn. He sighed in relief and wiped the sweat off of his forehead before proceeding.

Around the corner was a door. Marth grew excited and ran to the door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. He rushed in there to see the timer marked for a minute, and Samus staring up at him anxiously.

"Samus!" Marth screamed. He ran up to her and quickly untied her. After ripping off the duct tape and taking out the gag, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Samus said as she leaned over to embrace Marth. Marth quickly picked her up and ran out of the room as far as he could before the timer went out.

He stopped and put Samus down, and sighed in relief. "Guys! I got her!" Marth called over the radio.

"You did?" Fox asked over the radio.

"Yeah! She's right here!" Marth held the radio to Samus's face, in which she said "Hello."

There were loud cheers coming from the radios. Everybody was cheering in joy. "Good job Marth!" "Way to go Marth!" "Drink's on me, Marth!"

BAM!

The sudden explosion knocked Marth off his feet to the wall behind him. His back throbbed in pain as he held his ears from the high pitched ringing that ceased to diminish. A pool of blood splattered over his tunic as if an endless rain continued to fall upon him. There was an empty spot where Samus once stood now filled with blood and body parts of the almost rescued bounty hunter.

Marth opened his mouth to speak but no words seemed to escape. His mind raced as he witnessed yet another gruesome murder. His spirits were blown up in the process and Marth felt despair arise as the scene made his stomach cringe. No one had ever been this close to saving another's life. A possibility was there but the murderer founds way to change everything around, and it gave a sense that maybe they were fighting a losing battle.

"Holy shit!" Marth's voice suddenly returned to him as he wiped the blood off his face with his bare hand.

"Marth, what happened?"

"SAMUS JUST BLEW UP!"

"WHAT?"

"SHE JUST FUCKING BLEW UP! "

"DEAR GOD ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"THERE'S BLOOD EVERYWHERE!"

Bowser and Sergio's mouth dropped in horror. "Oh no…" Sergio whined, "This is horrible!"

A tear descended down Bowser's face. He couldn't believe what he saw. Samus blows up out of nowhere, Marth breaks down crying, and now there's a big mess all over the camera. "And we had her too…" Bowser said in a horrified tone.

The camera changed to a picture of a man in a dark cloak. "Hello, everybody." The figure said in a very raspy voice.

"Oh dear God!" Bowser screamed, "It's him!"

"So that's the guy who's murdering everybody?" Sergio asked. "I see…"

"He's hi-jacked the broadcasting system," Bowser muttered, "I can't believe this!"

"Allow me to introduce myself," The figure said, "I am the one who has committed the horrible crime of murder. I am the one who has taken the life of your beloved friends, and smashed the dreams of many. I have taken the lives of children and women, and I have torn apart brothers and sister. I come here today to announce to the world, that these competitors of this tournament have not been going home, but have been murdered, slain, slaughtered like pigs, and shown to the world. What you saw, was the corpse of all that I have killed. That is my art, my beautiful creation, and their tomb."

The figure cracked out a high pitch laughter, "I come here today to tell the world that nobody will leave alive, and I intend to kill every competitor. The one's who loose the match will also loose their life. As you have all witnessed, Samus Aran has been blown to smithereens, right before your very eyes. From this point on, I am done toying with you, and I will now take to my deepest pleasures to bring the most detrimental agony to those who will fight and die later on. From this point on, I will no longer show mercy, and you will all become a plaything for my amusement. And you, the viewer, will have the discrepancy to witness each brutal murder. I do hope that you enjoy the show, because from here on out, nobody dies without agony."

There was a deep laughter and the screen went black. Sergio glanced towards Bowser. "Wow…I'm terribly sorry."

Bowser didn't seem to hear him. He continued to blankly gape at the blank screen before finally talking. "I can't believe it…Everything we have worked for to keep this secret is gone…Everything we have done to investigate this crime has just been torn down…And now…The world knows…"

"I have a bad feeling that Albrecht is going to be pissed." Sergio muttered.

Bowser let more tears slip down his cheeks. "It's not fair…" He mumbled, "It's just not fair…"

Author: Woo! That was long. Well, KILL THE EMPIRE here, hoping that you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry it took a while, but I think it was worth it.

Big credit goes to Babygurl for helping bring out the drama, couldn't have done it without ya.

I hope you enjoyed my chapter. UNTIL NEXT TIME!

- JIMBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


	21. Chapter 20

Wow. Fuck. Things really went to hell here.

Heyo everyone. Herr Wozzeck here. Well, it looks like everything fell apart. RoyalFanatic is no longer writing in the Super Smash Brothers section, college caught up with BabyG and KTE... well, I haven't heard from him in a damn while.

So, over a year and a half after the last update (and after the three-year anniversary, can you imagine?), I've decided enough is enough. I'm going to finish this on my own. I talked with at least RoyalFanatic, and she supports my decision, and if I can ever get a hold of the others I'm sure they would agree it's for the best.

And so, I bring to you the next chapter of this saga, as it's way past overdue...

* * *

Chapter 20

"What? You almost had her, but she blew up?"

"That's what it looks like, Mr. Albrecht. Also, it somehow got broadcast across on the television."

"What?"

A rather lengthy silence took hold of the office. Marth bowed his head at the head of Albrecht's desk, Isolde, Fox, Peach, and Mario all standing by his side as he had related what had occurred after the end of Fox and Samus' match.

Mario shook his head solemnly the whole time. "I don't think there's anything more we can do," he said sadly after a while.

The German was quite angry with this, and with a loud bang his fist slammed onto the top of the desk, and he looked them in the eye. "There is no way this can be true!" he exclaimed. "There is no way!"

"I'm sorry, but it seems like it..." said Marth.

Albrecht shook his head, crossing his arms in front of him as he began pacing around the desk. "Damn it," he said. "Why does that illusion have to be there?"

"Why else?" pointed out Fox quickly. "It's clear this guy doesn't want any of us to escape."

The office was silent for a long time as Albrecht paced back and forth in front of his desk, a worried expression on his face. He looked to Fox, Marth, Mario, and Isolde sadly, his eyes showing quite a large amount of concern.

"Let's face it..." said Fox. "We're doomed. Popo is the only survivor so far, and everybody else has been brutally murdered by somebody. And we're all going to follow soon until only one is left."

Albrecht shook his head, biting his lower lip before speaking. "I only wish we had some way to take this tournament off of the airwaves," he said. "As it is, I can't contact the network, and we're already far too late to be able to cancel the coverage..."

Peach shook her head, a defiant expression on her face. "We can't give up," she said sternly.

All eyes went to the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. "But Peach, we've done everything we can," said Fox.

"Not yet we haven't," she replied, crossing her arms in front of her. "The way you guys are moping around, the murderer has already won. So our deaths are being broadcast out to the general public. So what? The only thing that changes is that all of our attempts to hide it have gone to nothing. But that doesn't mean we can't stop this man. We have to keep trying. Even if we fail, we can be at peace with ourselves knowing we did the best we could to save our friends."

Albrecht looked at her sternly. "But Peach..."

"We can't give up hope," she replied. "Because that's the only thing we have left to hold on to."

"But what hope is left for us?" asked Marth.

"Our deaths are being broadcasted to the general public now," replied the princess stoically. "And since auditions for what was supposed to be next year's tournament were around the corner, someone's probably taken notice. So maybe we'll get outside help soon."

"What about the reporter, then?" asked Fox, shaking his head.

The princess frowned at this. "You guys really are dense," she said. "Don't stop believing in ourselves. We can't go wrong as long as we still have hope."

And with this, she left the office, leaving a thoughtful silence behind her as she walked to the hospital wing.

* * *

The Smasher's Haven was rowdy, the smell of beer pregnant in the air as men lifted glasses to the victor of each match and drank until the glass was empty. The matches were broadcast on a huge TV, and everybody always had a good time.

Or would have, if not for the fact that the unplanned footage had leaked into the next time slot. As soon as the figure had left the screen and a paid programming commercial had gone on, all was silent in the bar. People held their beer glasses in disbelief. Even the ones that were totally drunk could not believe their eyes, and their beer spilled onto the floor.

Wolf O'Donnel was one of the ones stuck there. He had not only seen Samus' death, but somehow he felt that something was awry.

"So that's why we couldn't find Falco..." he said.

The criminal had of course caught wind that Fox and Falco were in the Super Smash Brothers Tournament, and so he had gone to Smash City to keep track of them. He knew that Falco had lost to Mario sometime, but he never in his wildest dreams thought he could be killed by a murderer. But having seen the cross with the bodies of all of the deceased on it, he could not help but shake his head.

His ears twitched nervously as he turned in his stool to face the bartender, pointing at the screen in shock.

"Did you know this was going on?" he asked, breaking the silence.

All eyes fell on the lupine, all of them looking at the futuristic eyepatch over his left eye as he turned to the bartender.

The bartender shook his head. "No idea," he replied. "There was the whole hustle and bustle about Ganondorf being executed for killing a few smashers, yes, but we didn't know that everybody had been killed up to that point! And we didn't know the murderer was still running free!"

Wolf shook his head, his good eye reflecting some kind of strange anger. "What the hell?"

"This is ridiculous!" The person sitting next to Wolf relative to where the bar was chimed in, rubbing some of his blue hair as he pointed at it. "We can't let those people die!"

"But what can we do?" asked the bartender. "They're dying. So what?"

Wolf shot the bartender a glance. "So you don't care that they're dying?" he asked. "They are people!"

"Like you would know what that means, mister bounty hunter," pointed out the bartender quickly. "You take lives too, you know."

"But this is not fair!" he replied. "Even I'm not this sick!"

The person sitting by Wolf nodded in agreement. "We've gotta do something!"

"But what can we do?" asked the man behind the bar as he began rubbing glasses.

Wolf shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "But there's no way in hell I'm letting anybody kill my rival without me getting in on it! I might not like Fox, but damn it I would hate it if the world lost one of its best pilots because of some sick bastard!"

The bartender shook his head. "Good luck with that," he said.

"Then what about Popo Climber?" asked the man behind Wolf quickly. "I didn't see his body on that cross! Maybe there are a few survivors! And I don't know what we can do to help, but we have to try something to make sure the rest of them can survive!"

"Yeah!" said Wolf, standing on his stool. "I don't know about you, but I'm not about to sit here and watch anybody else die here! I'm going to the mansion, and nothing's going to stop me! Who's with me?"

The blue haired man to Wolf's side stood up, a smaller, black haired man standing up as well. "We're in," said the larger man, pointing at himself and the smaller person with him.

"Okay, that's two people," said the lupine. "Anybody else up for it?"

A rather gruff man in a stealth suit stood up slowly, raising a hand. "I can hijack radio frequencies," he said. "I also specialize in tactical stealth operations."

"Okay, that's good, we could use that," said the lupine. "Anybody else?"

A blue hedgehog then jumped up, raising a hand. "Count me in!" he cried. "I don't want to miss out on this chance to save anybody!"

"Well, I tell you, good luck with that," said the bartender, waving his hand dismissively. "When you guys fail, you can come here any time and I'll give you free drinks for trying."

With this, he left them alone. Wolf beckoned the others who had volunteered over to him, the other four moving over to where the lupine sat.

"Okay," he said. "So we're all heading to the mansion. Anyone know where it is?"

"Three miles south, in the middle of a field," replied the blue hedgehog almost instantly.

At this, everybody else blinked. "Memorized that already?" asked the expionage expert.

"Oh yeah," replied the hedgehog. "I'm Sonic, by the way. Sonic the hedgehog. Speed's my game."

Smirking naughtilly, the lupine crossed his arms in front of him. "I see..." he said. "If you do crack and weed as well, I know a few guys you can--!"

"Not _that_ speed!" replied Sonic disturbedly. "I can run really fast, that's why I use that word!"

"Like that will be of any use to us..." muttered the black-haired man under his breath so that Sonic couldn't hear.

"And you two," said Wolf, indicating the blue haired man and his companion. "What can you do?"

"Well, I can't really do much, but Soren's a mage," said the blue-haired man.

"And I have a very strong feeling that this could be related to very powerful magic," added the smaller person.

"And I'm Ike, by the way," replied the mercenary with a smile. "And my friend here is Soren."

"A pleasure," stated the mage simply.

"And you with the espionage tech," said the wolf. "You are...?"

"Solid Snake," replied the gruff man. "You can call me 'Snake', though."

Wolf nodded. "And you can call me Wolf," he said. "Okay, so, where do we need to go before we head over to the mansion?"

"I need to go to my hotel room to pick up some equipment," said Snake quickly. "We'll need it if we want to find a radio frequency to try to contact someone in there. Also, there's someone there who I think will really want to know what's going on."

"Another person?" asked Soren, exhaling and shaking his head.

"Well, we could use all the help we can get," replied the wolf. "Who's the last man?"

"His name is Bowser Jr.," replied Snake. "He's Bowser's son, and he was sent to my hotel a few days ago. He hasn't been able to leave, but I think he'll want to know about this."

"Okay," said Wolf. "So come on, guys. We're going to the hotel, and then we're heading straight for the mansion!"

And with this, the small group left the bar, optimistic about being able to help the smashers trapped inside the mansion, and unknowing of what they would uncover as they arrived there.

* * *

Albrecht and the remaining smashers were all crowded into Bowser's hospital room. Popo was able to stand and move around, and so he stood by Peach's side, looking around nervously. Looks of melancholy were splayed on everybody's faces as they looked to the German head of the tournament. Bowser nodded, and the rest of the group seemed to bow their heads in respect. Peach, however, still held her head high. She was very confident that the smashers would overcome this latest obstacle by themselves, and that they could do it no matter what happened.

Fox was the first to speak. "So who's next?" he asked.

The German nodded his head slowly. "The next match is Pichu and Roy," replied Albrecht.

Bowser shook his head. "God damn it," he said sadly. "It's another child's time to fight! Why?"

"Bowser, it's okay," replied Popo softly. "Isolde was able to save my life. And he hasn't come back for me yet..."

The king of the koopas nodded. "But that doesn't change anything," he replied.

Pichu shook his head nervously from where he was perched on Fox's head. "But I don't wanna die!"

"Neither do I," replied Roy, shaking his head. "Neither do I..."

"Well, what the hell do we do?" asked Marth. "Making the match a tie doesn't work, being at the scene to save someone only worked once, and we can't just walk out the front door..."

Peach crossed her arms in front of her, shaking her head. "You guys give up too easily," she stated bluntly. "We have to keep trying. Who knows? We might get lucky again."

"I wouldn't count on it," replied Fox, shaking his head.

"No, she's right," replied Bowser. "No matter what, we can't give up. Not even in the face of certain doom."

"Thank you," said Peach, nodding. "At least someone isn't losing hope."

"And I survived!" added Popo. "Who's to say that nobody else can?"

Everybody else simply sighed at this, shaking their heads grimly. "I don't know," said Fox, shaking his head. "We're all going to die somehow. But since you're pleading so ardently for it, I guess we'll keep on trying."

Peach nodded. "All right," she said. "Popo, you want to stay with me and Bowser?"

"Sure," replied the Ice Climber with an nod.

"Then that leaves the rest of us to attempt to save one or the other," said Fox. "I don't know what we'll tell you when we can't save another person..."

Peach shook her head. "No matter how many people die, my answer will always be the same," she replied softly.

And with this, the princess fell silent, the rest of the group nodding solemnly.

* * *

Roy and Pichu were both in the teleporter room, preparing for their match. The small mouse pokemon looked rather sad, and seeing this, Roy sat down on the ground next to the mouse.

"Something on your mind?" asked the red-headed swordsman.

The mouse shook his head. "I just remember the first time I was here," he replied. "In this room, I mean. Captain Falcon had told me to let him be the one to die..."

Roy shook his head. "So he chose his fate?"

"Yes," replied the mouse, nodding. "Such a brave person... I didn't want him to die..."

"Nobody did," replied Roy. "And nobody wants either of us to die now..."

The mouse shook his head, tears coming to his eyes. "Oh, Roy... I don't know what to do..."

The red-head shrugged, standing up. "I guess we'll have to do what everybody else has done up to this point," he said. "May the best fighter win."

Pichu nodded sadly, another tear escaping from his eyes.

And with this, the two of them stepped onto their respective teleportation pads, the both of them knowing that they might go to their doom.

* * *

Peach had pulled up a chair in the room next to Bowser's bed. Popo was situated in her lap, the three of them looking at the TV screen.

"Thanks for staying with me," replied Bowser. "Sergio's been very busy lately."

"Hey, nothing to it," replied the princess. "It's all I can do to make you comfortable."

Bowser nodded, looking up at the television as Roy and Pichu teleported onto the field.

It was then the match commenced. Pichu jumped at Roy, and the two of them could have sworn they had seen a tear slip down Pichu's cheek as he attempted to zap Roy with a jolt of electricity. The swordsman dodged, however, rolling under and swiping at the electric mouse with his sword.

Bowser gulped as he watched the match progress, and suddenly his arm found itself latching onto Peach's shoulder. The princess turned to face him, at first surprised by the contact, but then seeing the solemn expression on his face she relaxed.

"Peach," he stated simply. "I... I have something I need to tell you right now. And it's one of many things I have to tell everyone."

"Bowser?" asked Peach, raising an eyebrow.

The koopa nodded. "Peach, I know I'm going to die when I fight my next match," he said. "There's no denying that. So I wanted to apologize." The king nodded nervously, a few tears coming to his eyes as he looked at the princess. "I'm sorry for all those years of nothing but relentless kidnapping. I'm so, terribly sorry about it all. I wanted a mother figure for my son, even if I had to steal one... I'm sorry, Peach..."

The princess looked to the large turtle as the fight between Pichu and Roy went on on the television screen. She bit her bottom lip nervously, thinking about what to say next. Finally, she nodded.

"I forgive you," she said. "You've done more than enough for the rest of us now. You've given us all hope. You've never given up, even with everything. If we can't save you... I'll miss you, Bowser..."

The koopa sniffled sadly, Peach taking a hold of Bowser's hand as the two of them sat in silence.

Popo began jumping up, however, and this distracted them in their moment. "Guys, they're on their last stock!"

Peach turned her head just in time to see Roy dodge an electric blast from Pichu. The swordsman then slashed at Pichu several times, the mouse dodging every slash except for the last one. The last slash sent Pichu to the other end of the platform, which then gave the mouse time to charge a Skull Bash. Just as he was about to hit Roy from the force of his jump, though, Roy went into a counter stance, and then the counter connected. This sent Pichu flying farther, and then the lord ran forward and slashed Pichu again. The mouse was then set sailing away from the arena.

"GAME!"

* * *

As soon as Fox heard this, he found himself phasing into the wall. He found himself staring down a long corridor much like the one Roy had faced when he had attempted to find Samus.

"Oh, bloody hell, more of these hallways?" asked the vulpine to himself.

Fox shook his head before beginning to run down the hallway. As he did, he heard the radio cackle to life, static coming up quickly.

"_Fox, we can see Pichu!_" cried Mario from the radio. "_You've gotta hurry!_"

Fox nodded, grabbing the small radio he kept with him as he rushed forward. "What's it look like this time?"

"_He's strapped to some wierd chair!_" exclaimed the plumber. "_You better move it! There's a shotgun aimed right at him!_"

The star fighter did not really need to hear anything else to know that he needed to hurry. "All right," he said simply.

With this, he stowed the radio away. "Dear God..." he said. "I hope I can get there in time..."

The vulpine continued to run down the corridor, his feet running across the surface as he felt eyes on him. When he turned around, he found a hooded figure looking at him blankly.

Fox swore to himself as he looked at the figure. He had set his eyes on the one responsible for all of this. Seething in anger and forgetting the danger Pichu was in at the moment, the vulpine turned. Forgetting all of his tact at the moment, he rushed for the cloaked figure.

"You!" he screamed out, fangs bared as he stared the villain down.

The figure said nothing, merely retreating into the hallway quickly. Fox ran forward, giving chase. As he did, the radio buzzed to life.

"_Uh, Fox, what the hell are you doing?_" asked Marth.

"I found the murderer," said Fox, only pressing the button on his unit to speak. "And I'm gonna catch him and then get Pichu!"

From the other end of the radio, he could hear Marth, Mario, and Isolde all protesting loudly. He paid them no mind, however, instead running after the fiend. Fox chased the murderer through a series of winding hallways, all of them ending in abrupt corners that the fox had a little trouble navigating. This served to put some distance between Fox and the hooded figure, but the vulpine was always able to gain ground before the hooded figure could get away on the straight sections. Fox blocked everything else out, intent on catching the murderer in the act.

However, after around five minutes of chasing the figure, Fox suddenly felt something strange around him. When he focused, he saw the murderer phase straight through the wall. What made this even more strange was that there were no white screens anywhere, and so the vulpine wa left to stand around.

"What the hell...?" he asked.

He looked after where the figure had disappeared for a few seconds before he suddenly became aware of voices yelling at him.

"_Fox!_" cried the voice of Marth. "_Get to Pichu! Now! You're running out of time!_"

Fox shook his head, rubbing one of his ears as he moved forward without thinking. However, as soon as he did, he saw a door to his right. Smiling softly, the fox ran forward. Pressing a button on his device, the vulpine nodded.

"Okay, I think I found it!" he cried. "That figure led me right to it!"

And without waiting to hear a reaction from the others, the vulpine opened the door quickly.

This turned out to be a big mistake, however. Fox had opened the door to the place Pichu was being held in, and for a second he saw the mouse intact. However, something had triggered a small trap to go off, and then the vulpine heard the loud boom of a shotgun blast in the small room. The sound was shocking enough for Fox to take, and so he covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the remains of the electric mouse splayed on the wall behind the chair, guts and blood flung about everywhere. Slowly, the vulpine uncovered his ears, eyes glazing over in shock at what he had just seen.

"... Damn it..." he muttered, very sure that the remaining smashers and the people watching the tournament had just seen the exact same thing.

And in his shock, he simply stood there, his eyes glued to where Pichu's arms and legs were shackled, the gore behind him becoming overbearing slower than anything had anyright to...

* * *

"There was nothing he could have done to save Pichu."

Fox, Peach, Marth, Isolde, Mario, Popo, Roy, and Albrecht were all crowded into Bowser's hospital room. The German had gone through the surveillance tapes again, something not seeming totally correct to him about Pichu's death.

Upon saying this to the rest of the smashers, however, he got some very odd looks. "What do you mean?" asked Marth.

"There were two entrances," said the German. "But both entrances were rigged to activate the shotgun. From what I saw, there was nowhere else he could have entered from."

"Bullshit!" exclaimed Mario. "There had to be somewhere else!"

Albrecht shook his head. "Again, I couldn't see any other entrances..."

The vulpine shook his head dejectedly, sitting by Bowser's bed. "Great," he said. "So no matter what, I couldn't save Pichu..."

"You were saying, Peach?" asked Mario.

The princess shook her head. "When at first you don't succeed, try, try again," she replied slowly. "We can't give up, even in the face of doom. Because then we can never be comfortable knowing we just sat idly by."

"Peach, in case you haven't noticed, we've been trying again and again to save people's lives," replied Fox. "And now we're all that remains of Super Smash Brothers. We couldn't save Samus or Pichu, and we were so close! Hell, the only person we've managed to save so far is Popo!"

"And that should give you reason to have hope!" cried the Ice Climber loudly. "At least one survived!"

"One out of twenty possible victims!" exclaimed Fox, standing up. "True, we killed Ganondorf ourselves, and there was nothing we could've done about Samus or Pichu, but everybody else could have been saved!"

"Or maybe you've lost sight of the fact that we didn't realize what was going on until Yoshi died?" asked Peach, obviously beginning to get enraged. "And that Master Hand fully deserved his death for jumping the gun and accusing everybody he set his eyes on?"

"That doesn't change the fact that we could have saved everybody else!" cried Fox, frowning at the princess. "And we tried to, too! This is hopeless, Peach! We can't save any more people without failing!"

"Guys, calm down," said Bowser, holding his hands up. "We're doing everything we can, and so far I think that's all anybody can ask of us. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

Albrecht then glanced to the side nervously, shaking his head before crossing his arms in front of him. "Unfortunately, I have a feeling something else is going to occur."

At this, all the remaining Smashers and Isolde looked at Albrecht. "Why do you say that, father?" asked Isolde.

The man shook his head, rubbing his eyes as he turned to face Bowser.

"It's your turn again," said Albrecht. "The next match is Bowser versus Marth."

All eyes turned to the German, shock splayed on everybody's faces as they heard the words. Everybody knew Bowser would be hopeless against whoever he was up against. But to think it would come so soon was shocking to the smashers. Bowser, the one who had begun the investigation, the one who always had everybody's lives in mind throughout the entire tournament, the one who was caring to the children, the one that everyone looked up to in their time of despair...

He would be killed soon.

And it was then that the gravity of the situation occurred to Bowser. The Smashers that were already losing hope would lose it completely. Fox would hole himself up in his room, the guilt too strong for him. Ganondorf would be waiting at the gates of heaven to jeer at him. His people would be thrown into chaos seeing their ruler brutally killed onscreen.

But worst of all, he would never get to see his son again.

At this, the koopa shook his head, a single tear escaping.

"It all comes down to this..." he said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Junior..."

The only other thing to be heard in the room then was the stamping of Fox's feet as he ran out of the hospital room, tears streaming down his face as all of the other smashers looked to where Bowser lay in the hospital bed.


	22. Chapter 21

Okay, now that we're back with La Belle and it's no longer a crossover between myself and two other authors, I think we can safely say that I have my hands full. Let's hope things don't get too out of hand, shall we?

With this, I bring you the next chapter. Away with the next kill!

* * *

Chapter 21

The pick-up truck rolled along the tarmac road, slowly going by. Ike, Soren, Sonic, and Bowser Jr. had all taken to sitting in the truck's bed, Sonic sitting next to the equipment that Snake had brought along to make sure it would be all right. The espionage agent was driving the truck, Wolf sitting in the passenger seat as the vehicle moved along. The group of six had made great progress to the mansion, and according to Sonic they were almost there. They were silent the entire way, saving their dialogue for when it would be most needed.

Finally, the group saw a mansion in the distance, a flag bearing the Smash Brothers logo standing prominently in the noon-time day. The group seemed to light up, but as they neared, Soren seemed to be looking less and less well. Finally, when they came to a stop, the mage was only too glad as he had been feeling awful right up to being next to the mansion. Ike was obviously the first one to notice this, but before he could say anything, Sonic had beaten him to it.

"Hey, Soren, you okay?" he asked.

"No..." replied Soren.

"You certainly don't sound okay," said Bowser Jr., tugging on his bandana as Snake and Wolf stepped out of the truck. "What do you think it is?"

Soren shook his head. "It's nothing I can't get used to," said the mage. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be able to tell you what is going on..."

Wolf had gone to the back and opened up the bed. Snake retrieved his equipment from the bed and taken it out as he looked at the mansion. "Well, here's the mansion," said the tactical expert.

"Indeed," said Wolf. "But... something seems wierd about it..."

"It kinda does..." said Sonic, who had jumped onto the top of the pick-up truck. "I thought there was a garden to the side of the mansion, but I don't see one..."

"Probably because it's in the back," replied Wolf.

"No, I swear!" replied the hedgehog, jumping in front of his lupine companion and gesturing with his hands. "The garden's right on the left side of the mansion! Or, it should be, only it isn't for some reason!"

Wolf glanced at the part indicated by Sonic. Not seeing a garden there, he raised his good eyebrow before facing the hedgehog again. "Yeah, it isn't," said the lupine. "Are you sure you weren't seeing things."

"I swear!" cried the hedgehog.

"He is not delusional," replied Soren, already sounding much better than he had previously.

All eyes turned to the mage garbed in black. Ike's face furrowed in concern, the mercenary crossing his arms in front of him as he looked at his companion. "Why?" he asked.

"I was exposed to more magic in a short time than I should have been," replied Soren.

At this, everybody except Ike gave the mage a very baffled look. All of them stood there for about a minute, wondering what Soren meant. None of them dared raise their voices to ask what he had meant by that, but Ike unfortunately had no such plans.

"So there's powerful magic here?" he asked finally.

"Of the darkest kind," replied Soren, walking up to the mansion slowly. "Now, this can mean several things. This can mean that somebody is performing an illusion on all inside the mansion. It can mean that they have portals to another dimension that open up when the time is right. It could mean there is a force field up around the mansion and the immediate vicinity."

The mage then stopped after a certain distance, facing the group and nodding. He then held his hand out as if to knock on a door, and then he placed it against the air.

To everybody's great shock, Soren knocked on a certain part of the air twice. What creeped them out most was not so much the fact that it stopped in the same place every time, but rather that a rather soft knocking sound rang out in the air when he did. All of them looked at the mage in disbelief as suddenly, a ring of molten lava seemed to circle the mansion, the house seemingly suspended in the air for a brief second as pathways to rooms they did not know could exist came up. All this disappeared after around ten seconds, however, and all of them were left dumbfounded.

"Or it could be all three," replied Soren. "And that seems to be the case here."

The group turned to each other, looking nervous before turning to face Soren again.

Sonic was the first to speak. "So... to get in there, we have to break this spell first," he said. "How the hell are we supposed to do that?"

"Kill the caster, I'd imagine," said Wolf. "Right."

"Precisely," replied Soren. "Whoever the mage is that is doing all of this magic must be powerful indeed..."

Bowser Jr. rubbed his chin with a small hand, however, looking at the mansion in wonder. "But chances are that mage is killing everybody," he replied. "So how do we kill him if he's in there?"

"Simple," said Soren. "We contact somebody in there and try to help them figure out who is killing everybody. Snake?"

But the espionage agent had already set his equipment on the ground, and he had begun fiddling with knobs and dials. "Already on it," he stated simply, his lips holding on to a cigarette as he worked. "Those guys used compact radios. I'll try to see if I can hijack a particular frequency and see who I end up with."

"All right, good," said Wolf, looking on the mansion. "Hang in there, smashers. We're working now."

The group looked at the mansion uncertainly, the tactical agent testing knobs and dials with uncanny speed. He moved as fast as he could, knowing that time was not on their side.

* * *

"Fox! Open the door!"

"Go to hell!"

"Fox! We need your help to save Bowser!"

"I don't care! He's gonna die no matter what we try to do to save him! Just leave me alone!"

Marth shook his head. He had been banging on Fox's door for quite some time by that point, Isolde and Peach both standing by his side. The prince was beginning to think that getting Fox out of his room would be impossibe, as the vulpine had locked his door. He was quite concerned about Fox as well, as he was afraid something would happen to him even if he wasn't in the match.

"Fox," said Peach, stepping by the prince to help him. "Please, think about it a little bit. Think about his son, for crying out loud!"

There was a brief silence from the room in which the vulpine had holed himself up, the quiet unusual in the air. Isolde had figured that maybe they had finally convinced the fox differently.

But the vulpine was not to be swayed. "There's nothing we can do," he said. "Marth should know that more than anyone, as he's fighting in that damn match."

The prince frowned, crossing his arms in front of him. "Fox, Mario and Roy can't do this alone!" cried the prince. "And also, you'd be betraying the investigation that you helped set up."

"To hell with it all!" screamed Fox. "Get the fuck away from me!"

"Fox, this is ridiculous!" shouted Marth. "You only met Bowser in this tournament and you're acting like your lover died or something!"

"Maybe I admired him!" The vulpine's voice sounded angered beyond all hope. "He had strength and hope where others didn't! And he only had our best interests in mind! And now he's going to die, damn it! Don't you realize what this means? He's going to leave us all! He's going to leave _me_! All the hope I ever had is gonna die with him, and you're sitting there treating it like we can still save him! Face it, Marth! This is all hopeless! It's all fucking hopeless!"

A dense silence took a hold of everybody that was standing around as many things came to the foreground. Peach, Marth, and Isolde exchanged glances for a few seconds, the three of them having been hushed by Fox's exclamations.

Isolde sighed, shaking her head. "Forget it," she said. "There's nothing we can do to persuade him..."

"Looks like Mario will have to go in then," said Marth. "Isolde, Peach, you two should keep track of the radio that we have."

"Okay, Marth," replied Isolde softly.

And the three of them walked down the hall, the grim reality of Bowser's death coming at the forefront.

* * *

A short while later, Marth stood in the teleportation room, waiting on Bowser. When Peach had wheeled him in on a wheelchair, the koopa was looking a little dejected as he looked up at Marth. As Peach stopped pushing the wheelchair, the koopa king stood up with great difficulty. Around the prince were gathered Isolde, Mario, Roy, Popo, and Albrecht, all that remained of the organisation except for Fox and Sergio. Fox had holed himself up in his room, and Sergio was busy trying to get him out and attending to matters throughout the mansion, and thus their absences were noticeable. Slowly, the king of the koopas turned to everybody in the room.

"Peach, I already made my peace with you, so I have nothing more to say about that," began Bowser simply. "As for the rest of you..."

"Mario." The plumber looked to his arch-nemesis, nodding slightly. "I already told Peach this, but... I'm sorry for having kidnapped her so many times. I..."

"You don't have to say much else," replied Mario with a nod. "What you've done here is enough. You're not a bad person at all, Bowser. I only wish I got to meet the real you..."

Bowser nodded slowly, turning to Popo. "Popo..." said the king, the ice climber blinking as he heard his name. "I'm sorry we couldn't save your sister."

"No hard feelings," replied Popo. "It wasn't your fault anyways. Bowser..."

The Ice Climber chose not to say anything more as he rubbed his eye with a glove. He turned to Roy last, nodding to the prince of Pherae. "Roy," he said simply. "I'm sorry about what--"

And before Bowser could continue, the prince was on his knees in front of the king. "I'm so sorry about what I did!" he cried out. "I didn't mean to! If I hadn't tried to kill you this wouldn't have happened!"

"No hard feelings, Roy," said Bowser. "I was a little out of it myself. Just know that I forgive you."

With this, Bowser faced Marth, nodding. "Don't you dare take it easy on me, you hear?" asked Bowser.

"Well, that's a problem," replied Marth softly. "If I give it my all, we will be at disparate skill abilities."

"Well, I'm telling you not to hold back," said the king of the koopas. "Even if I am mostly paralyzed right now. Doesn't mean I can still fight."

The prince of Altea sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Fine," he grudgingly agreed. "I won't take it easy on you."

"Good." With this, Bowser turned to Isolde, the German looking quite sad. "Isolde, take care of Marth and the others for me."

The female simply nodded, and then he gestured to the doorway.

"Well, what are you people waiting for?" he asked. "If Fox ever comes out of his room, tell him I'm sorry I couldn't save Falco."

With this, the others filed out wordlessly, Bowser and Marth both standing in the teleportation room. All was silent as Bowser looked to the prince of Altea. Marth noticed that Bowser was very obviously in pain, but given how stubborn the king of the koopas was there would be no backing down. With this, the prince of Altea nodded.

"You better not take it easy on me either," he said simply.

And with this, Marth and Bowser were both teleported to the match.

The match was very short, however. Marth did exactly as the king of the koopas had instructed him to, and he did not hold back. Bowser, being barely able to move without some form of aid, was left to the mercy of Marth's blade.

As the smashers watched, Mario readying himself to rush in through what had been termed 'the wall of doom', they all shook their heads at how one-sided the match was. It mattered not where they were fighting, or how; Marth was taking down Bowser's stocks much faster than even Bowser could fathom. The koopa was only able to get a few blows in, and even those blows were countered by Marth.

Such that when Bowser flew away on his final stock, the speed of the match had a very surreal quality about it for everybody involved. In fact, when the announcer screamed out 'Game', nobody really heard the announcer.

All they had seen was the match between Bowser and Marth go by faster than any other match before. And in a way, it was heartbreaking.

* * *

When Bowser had lost, he found himself warped right into bondage. His bonds kept him against a grey wall, and only then did the fear of death set in. He looked around almost frantically, surveying his surroundings.

The room was quite dark, and Bowser felt a dampness surround him as he just sat there with the restraints keeping him in place. Turning his head, he saw what looked like a giant hand splayed out on the wall next to him. It was connected to some device that seemed pointed straight at him, and looking a little harder, the king of the koopas realized that if the device went off it would crush him. With this, the koopa king panicked, but he knew there was nothing he could do to save himself. It was all up to Mario whether he lived or not.

"It was amusing watching you amble around, you know."

At this, Bowser turned his head quickly, facing a hooded figure that had apparently materialized into the room. Seeing this, the koopa growled.

"You!" he said.

"I did say that I had no heart for separating a father and a son," replied the murderer slowly, his voice a slow drawl as he approached the koopa. "And yet, I'm going to have to retract that statement seeing as how you lost. It's unfortunate, really."

"I said it before, and I'll say it again: you have no fucking heart!" replied Bowser, trying to sound as vehement as he could.

The murderer shook his head. "I may remind you it was your choice to participate in the fight even though you knew full well you would lose miserably," he replied.

"I did that because I didn't want anybody else to die, damn it!" cried the king angrily. "I'm not going to sit back and watch as everybody dies and I'm helpless to do anything about it! If ths is how I can help, so be it!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." The murderer began pacing around the room as he looked at the turtle. "You silly, silly king. They gave you a chance to survive, and you refused to take it. Such a noble king. You and Marth would both have lived if you had only stayed in your room. I am a murderer yes, but I am not without my sense of honor..."

"And you are only delaying the inevitable while you are at it," he continued cooly. "See, there is something I need all but one of your souls for, and whether you like it or not, your death will not end the murders. I will keep killing others so long as people lose matches. And unfortunately nobody really seems to have any plans to end the tournament."

Bowser refused to believe this, even being helpless as he was. However, there was one last question he had to ask. "Why are you doing this?" he asked sadly. "What the fuck do you want?"

The murderer's reply was too concise for comfort-- or what little of it the king of the koopas had. "Revenge."

With this, the murderer approached the koopa and crossed his arms. "You said you wanted to get your hands on me before the tournament ended," he said, bringing a hand to his hood. "Now's your chance. Come get me."

With this, the hood was drawn back, Bowser's eyes widening in shock as he saw the identity of the murderer.

"Y... You... You fucking bastard!"

Bowser struggled against his bindings, growling angrily as he felt nothing but pure rage against the murderer. But try as he might, he was unable to break free. His paralysis certainly didn't help matters at all, but it was Bowser's rage that towered over everything else. After around a half a minute of seeing the king of the koopas fight against his restraints, the murderer simply let out a diabolical laugh, putting his hood back on and bringing his face almost directly in front of where Bowser's face was. The murderer simply laughed in his face for a good while before turning around as Bowser's rage quelled itself and became replaced by a feeling of humiliation. As the grim reality of his situation settled on Bowser, this time more forcefully, he began to cry.

"Butthurt?" asked the murderer. "Good. I shall end your life here. God will not save you!"

And with this, the murderer snapped his fingers, and suddenly the large hand next to him swung around at a high speed. Before Bowser knew what had happened, the murderer disappeared in a flash, and then he felt a great pain before everything was black.

* * *

Peach was in tears upon seeing the hand crush Bowser fatally, his blood spewed across the walls. The hand thankfully did not pull back to show what gore could possibly have awaited him there.

The worst part was that they had seen the murderer taunt Bowser. This should have been taken as a good thing as they should have been able to identify the murderer after so many failed attempts to do so. However, what defeated it was that it changed so that they could see Bowser's face contort in rage as he tried in vain to break free. He looked extremely weak as he did, and seeing this only tormented the poor princess of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Popo was simply patting her on the shoulder from where he sat in her lap, Isolde shaking her head sadly at what she was seeing. Marth, who had gotten back from the teleportation room just in time to see the murderer taunt Bowser, patted Isolde's shoulder comfortingly, the woman resting her head on Marth's shoulder.

Mario was seen on-screen soon after Bowser had been crushed, and upon seeing his arch-nemesis reduced to a bloody corpse on the wall, he shook his head and cried, falling to his knees as he did so. It cut away to a paid programming commercial afterwards, and everybody knew that it was it.

Bowser was dead. And there was nothing they could do about it.

* * *

To say the least, Fox was nearing the point where he would become a psychological wreck.

His TV had turned on of its own accord, and he witnessed every piece of the final moments of the king of the koopas. And when he saw the murderer get taunted, it only hurt the vulpine more.

The problem was, Fox had acquired a crush on Bowser fairly late in the tournament. The truth was, the fox admired the strength of character that Bowser exhibited. True, they messed up sometimes, but the fox found himself drawn to Bowser's refusal to give up. He always tried to spare another person's life where he could, even if it endangered his life. And seeing his death was a huge blow to Fox McCloud, who had begun to lose hope after the death of Samus. Now, there was almost no hope left for him.

And so, he kept himself locked in his room, crying into his bedsheets.

He heard knocking on his door a short time after he had seen Bowser's death with his own eyes. He knew who it was and paid no attention to the voices trying to tell him of Bowser's death. The vulpine stood up, wiping some tears from his face as he moved to the desk. He then picked up a piece of paper, scrawled something on it, and slid it under the doorway. Fox was only sated when he heard the sound of the footsteps go away from the door to his room, and when he was alone, he looked out of the window, seeing the sky warped by magic.

"I'm sorry, Bowser..." said Fox under his breath. "I'm sorry for being such a fucking coward... I love you..."

And with this, Fox sat on his bed, expecting nothing to happen for the remainder of the day.

But then, an unexpected thing happened. For then, something happened in the room that was subtle, yet Fox noticed it. Upon listening, he found that the static drone that had taken a hold of his room was no more. He had turned his to a different frequency to keep the other smashers from attempting to contact him, but he hadn't expected anybody to find the frequency he had turned to so quickly. Looking down at the radio, Fox wondered if the murderer was trying to say something to him.

"Wha...?" he asked, pressing the button as he wiped a few tears from his eyes. "Hello?"

"_Fox? What the fuck are you doing on this channel?_"

It was not the murderer's voice. It was a voice he didn't want to hear, but it was better than hearing the murderer's voice. For Fox recognized the voice.

The voice belonged to Wolf O'Donnel.

Jumping up in surprise, he turned to the radio.

"Wolf? What the fuck are you doing here?" asked the vulpine. "I thought you were--"

"_Smash Try-outs were in a couple of days,_" replied the lupine from the other end of the line. "_And then we found out you guys were getting murdered._"

"_Yeah,_" piped up a voice unfamiliar to the star fighter. "_So we're gonna try to get you out of here._"

Fox shook his head, looking down at the radio. "It's no use," replied the vulpine. "Almost all of us are dead anyways, so we can't stop him..."

"_Oh, so you're just gonna let this sick bastard get away with all he's done?_" asked Wolf's voice from the other line. "_You're better than that, Fox._"

The star fighter shook his head, looking down at the radio. "Look, Wolf, things have changed," he stated simply. "Things are absolutely hopeless here, I tell you. Everyone's been dying, we've only managed to save one person out of everybody that's died, and we can't even figure out who it is that's killing everybody."

"_You might be surprised then..._" replied another unfamiliar voice.

"_Yeah,_" said yet another unfamiliar person. "_We've got a mage with us._"

Upon hearing this, one of Fox's ears perked up. "You mean... he might have answers?"

"_Or things that can lead you to them_," said the other mage. "_Either way, I think you might be able to figure out who is committing all of these murders soon enough._"

And then, hope blossomed within the heart of the fox. It was not much given that Bowser had just died, but Fox felt at ease with what had happened.

"I see..." said the fox. "Okay. I'll trust you guys."

"_Great,_" said Wolf. "_But, there are a few things we do have to tell you._"

"_First of all, the rest of us in this motley crew,_" replied yet another voice unfamiliar to Fox. "_You already know Wolf, so he won't need to reintroduce himself. I'm Snake, communications technician._"

"_And I'm Ike,_" said the third unfamiliar voice that Fox had heard.

"_I'm Sonic!_" exclaimed the first unfamiliar voice that Fox had heard. "_Yeah, Sonic the Hedgehog._"

"_And I'm Soren,_" replied the second person to speak that Fox did not recgnize. "_And I am the mage with the group._"

"_He's really good, too,_" said Ike. "_Named all these spells that are being used on you guys after an hour of standing around._"

"Right," said Fox. "What else?"

"_You can't tell anybody about what's going on,_" said Wolf.

At this, Fox's eyes widened. "What the hell?" he asked. "But people will want to know!"

"_Unfortunately, you might unwittingly tell the murderer,_" replied Soren. "_One of the people in the mansion is using a spell that can make him hide anywhere._"

"What?" asked Fox. "What's that supposed to mean? Is it an invisibility spell? Is he hiding in the rooms he created? What?"

"_I will explain everything in a moment_," replied Soren. "_Let me just say for now that if the murderer finds out your on his trail, you, him, and everybody that's left in that mansion won't live to see another day._"

Fox gulped, realizing the gravity of the situation. He nodded slowly, looking down and trusting Soren to know what he was talking about.

"Okay," said Fox. "I won't tell. But if anybody has any relevant information about the murders, I'm going straight to you guys."

"_All right,_" said Snake. "_Now, stay on this frequency as long as you can. I don't think this murderer can trace our calls, otherwise Soren or I would have noticed by now._"

"Gotcha," said Fox, shifting slightly on his seat. "Now, what have you found?"

* * *

After the commotion surrounding Bowser's death had died down, Mario had gone to the hospital room in which he had spent his final days. It was eerily quiet, the other smashers having gone to try to get Fox out of his room after talking a little about Bowser and how much things had gone wrong. It was so strange, seeing his bed empty.

It was true that the king had only occupied the bed for a few days. But either from his impressive weight, or because Mario had known him for so long, there was still an imprint of Bowser on the bed. It was also true that Mario had used to hate the king of the koopas for constantly kidnapping the princess.

But during the tournament, his views on Bowser had made a complete rotation, and now he saw Bowser, not as a serial kidnapper, but as a brave man who only had everybody's best interests in mind. A year ago, he would have scoffed at the notion that someone could find good in the koopa king. And yet...

His thoughts were interrupted by a hand laying itself onto his shoulder. Mario looked over his shoulder to see Fox standing by his side. The vulpine had a sad expression on his face, but seeing the fox was out of his room, the plumber nodded.

"I was a coward," said Fox. "But not anymore... Not after this..."

"That's the spirit," said Mario with a smile on his face. "Come on. Let's go find if the others aren't around your room right now."

And with this, the two of them left the hospital room, accepting the koopa's death and deciding to move on.


	23. Chapter 22

Okay. Bowser's dead, the rescue group gets to the mansion, and they make contact with Fox.

I think we know where this is going to go within the next few chapters. Let's go on, shall we?

* * *

Chapter 22

The smashers all gathered around a small table in the match lounge, Albrecht and Isolde standing by the side. There were so few smashers left that they no longer had any need for the large meeting room. Heads were shaking all across the board as they all wondered what was going to happen next.

Finally, Albrecht nodded grimly.

"I guess I should tell you who the next match is with," he said.

"I guess you should," replied Fox, glancing at Albrecht suspiciously. Whatever else he had wanted to say he kept to himself, however, and this did not escape Mario's eyes. The plumber simply looked at Albrecht nervously, hoping that the line-up for the next match would not be as harrowing as the previous one.

"The next match..." said the German softly. "... is Mario versus Peach."

A dumbfounded silence took a hold of the room that everybody was in. The remaining smashers all glanced at each other nervously, Mario and Peach both looking at each other. It had been a commonly known fact that Peach had been rescued by Mario many times in the past.

"But... You mean... The man who's saved me...?" asked Peach nervously.

"I'm afraid so," replied Albrecht. "Your life is in his hands."

Peach simply stared at the plumber, the plumber staring back with an expression of shock that was just as strong as hers.

"But... But that makes no sense!" cried Mario. "That can't be!"

Albrecht shook his head, his hands behind him. "I'm sorry, but I did not make these final brackets," he said. "You all just wished to live..."

Peach shook her head, standing up and pointing at Mario. "I... I don't know..." she said. "I think you should live, Mario..."

At this, Mario almost jumped out of his seat in shock. "What?" he asked, wildly.

"You heard what I said," replied Peach. "I don't want to cause your death."

Mario shook his head, crossing his arms in front of him. "I don't want to kill you either!" he replied. "Besides, you've got a kingdom to rule!"

"I know I do," she said. "But what's worse; losing an heir to the throne that can be renamed, or a hero that can't be replaced?"

The plumber frowned. "Peach, you've shown you can defend yourself," he said. "You don't have to have other people save you, you know!"

Peach shook her head, getting more and more determined. "Then who's going to save the civilians if you die?" she asked. "My people love their peace! I'm not about to violate their want for peace just because the kingdom has no other way of defending itself!"

"Oh, you can form a truce with the koopas now that you're not technically enemies anymore!" cried Mario, his words more and more impassioned as he got progressively angrier.

"You think the populace of the koopa empire is going to spare resources to help out someone they hate so much? No!"

"They'll try harder if Bowser Jr. tries to do something and if you let them know you didn't kill their king!"

"How do you know they'll take my word for it?"

"Why do you want to die so much, anyway?"

"I don't know, why don't you answer your own question?"

"That is enough!"

Albrecht slammed his fist down on the table, a loud boom echoing in the small room as both the plumber and the princess fell silent. He glared at both of them as they shrank back in fear of what the German would do. Coughing slightly, Albrecht looked to Peach and Mario.

"If you two want to debate about this further, I shall ask that you do it in a much calmer manner than what is being heard now," he said. "Settle down, and let us talk this through."

With this, the room fell silent, Peach and Mario both staring at each other in apprehension of the decision they both knew they would have to make.

* * *

For quite some time after that, there had been much arguing. Thus, when all was said and done, Peach had gone on a walk to clear her head.

When all was said and done, neither of them were very happy with the circumstances. The stakes were far too high for either to die, but in he end they both knew that the murderer would force them to make a choice. And it had been a very difficult choice to make, seeing as how both people were equally valuable to their people in the Mushroom Kingdm and how they both wanted to live really badly.

All of the thoughts swirling in her head were overwhelming her. She had made the same decision she had made before Zelda's match. But here, something felt much more wrong about the set-up, and Peach had taken a walk to sort her feelings in her head. It was probably a bad idea to do so ten minutes before her match, but she felt a little differently about it.

As she walked, she came to a stop, leaning against the wall as tears escaped from her eyes. She shook her head, knowing that the situation was very grim. She refused to shout, however, for she held on to the hope that the murderer could be brought to justice, even if he managed to kill every last smasher. There were very few ways that they could tell who the murderer was. But Peach knew-- she just knew-- that somewhere, the killer had to have been careless. There had to have been a trace left behind.

As she thought about this, she suddenly felt herself fall into the wall. Gasping in shock as she did, the princess landed on her butt on the other side, looking around when she landed. She was very confused, mostly about why there was no white screen where she was standing and how she was in the room she had been put in anyway.

The poor princess began shaking, realizing where she was. The first thought on her mind was to get out of there. Standing up, she ran forward. However, the white screen had been replaced with a typical wall, for then Peach slammed into it head-first, and she fell to the ground from this.

"No... No!"

Peach stood up and began banging against the wall, hoping that she could get out of there. Her hands only hit a hard stone wall, however, and eventually she was beating so bad she began to bleed through her gloves. Discarding these as she felt the blood stick, she continued pounding the wall, letting out a harsh scream as she did.

Unfortunately, it was all for naught, and after a particularly harsh bang against the wall, she sank to her knees, crying as she shook her head.

Glancing around tepidly with her eyes running out of tears to cry, she saw no lights that were on in the small room, so then she ended up groping her way across the room. She began to cry out, frightened beyond her mind. The room was dark, it was a little dank, and she had absolutely no idea where she was or how she had gotten there.

However, her hands suddenly fell upon something different than the stone she had been feeling. Stock still in her paranoia, she felt what her hand had touched again. After a few seconds, she realized it was a pant leg.

"H... hello?" asked Peach. "Are you o--?"

And then the lights in the room abruptly came on, shedding light on the darkness. Peach suddenly saw a body staring at her ominously. It belonged to somebody that had obviously died a long time before she had seen the body, as the skin looked brown and crusty from the sheer amount of decomposition involved. The air also smelled horrible, and the figure's skeleton showed prominently through its attire.

She gazed at it for a few seconds, shock filling her eyes as she shook in fright at the sight before her.

This was the breaking point. Peach screamed as loud as she could, the scream piercing the dead silence that had accompanied the lights coming on.

* * *

All of the remaining smashers were at the teleport station, standing there waiting for Peach to arrive. However, the princess was unusually late to her match, which disturbed everybody. It especially disturbed Mario, who was concerned about the princess not being where everybody else was. Albrecht had gone to see if he could find her, but everybody else was more or less stuck waiting for the two of them to return.

The plumber shook his head.

"I tell you, it's not normal for her to be this late to something!" he said. "This is really wierd!"

Isolde looked at the door, checking the time on her watch for the seventh time. "It's been fifteen minutes," she said. "Maybe we should go look for her?"

"Sure," said Fox, shrugging.

"I don't know..." said Roy softly. "I've got a bad feeling about this disappearance..."

Popo glared at the swordsman. "What, you too?" he asked bitterly. "You people are all non-believers!"

Marth shrugged at this, however, his gaze slightly skeptical. "Well, you do have to admit, this absence is rather... worrisome..." he said. "You never know if the murderer is waiting for an opportunity like this..."

"Killing the late-comers..." said Fox, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Because they forfeit the match... Even if it's unintentional..."

Mario looked around. "We've gotta go find her," he said. "If she dies, I don't want her to die without her chance to live..."

The rest of the group relented, Roy nodding hesitantly as he looked around him. "Okay then," said Fox. "Let's split up and see if we have any luck finding her..."

"Come on, Isolde," said Marth, taking a hold of Isolde's arm. "Let's go find Peach."

The group nodded silently, everybody moving out of the teleportation room as their confusion died down. They all went more or less in different directions to look for Peach.

Fox decided to walk over to Peach's room, keeping his eyes on the hallways around him. He thought back to the beginning of the tournament, when he remembered that Master Hand had promised to paint over the walls. Blood red was no color for a mansion, he had said. There had been much repainting to be done. And yet, the tournament had come so quickly that it was neglected, and then by the time the murders had begun to pick up steam there was no room left to think about those things. It was ironic, to be honest, how everything had turned sour so quickly.

"Looking for someone?"

Fox turned suddenly, looking straight at Sergio. Fox put a hand on his heart, exhaling softly.

"Oh, man, you scared me there... Sergio, was it?" said the vulpine.

"You have that correct, yes," replied the caretaker with a nod.

Fox nodded. "Yeah, I'm looking for someone, actually," said the fox. "Have you seen Peach anywhere?"

Sergio looked at the vulpine, crossing his arms in front of him. "I don't think I have, though..." said the caretaker. "And I've scoured the grounds..."

Fox glanced to the side. "So..." he asked. "Are you suggesting she ran off?"

The caretaker nodded. "Possibly..." he said. Upon a small silence, however, Fox thought he noticed Sergio glance to the side nervously before biting his lower lip. "But I don't think that's possible, really, what with... well... the whole illusion thing and all..." he added quickly.

"Huh," said the vulpine, keeping this in mind. "That's... really wierd..."

"Although..." said Sergio. "I think this'll help... I thought I heard a woman screaming as I was walking down one of the corridors... It couldn't have been Isolde, though... I mean--"

"Which floor?" asked Fox quickly.

Sergio brought a hand to his lip nervously, nodding softly. "I think it was the floor below us..." he said. "I'm not sure, but--"

That was all the vulpine needed to hear. He took off down the hallway, running to the nearest staircase knowing that Peach was likely in danger for more than just the fact that she was uncharacteristically late to a match.

As soon as he was on the floor below where Sergio had been, the fox looked around him.

"Peach?" he called out. "Where are you? Peach?"

He got his reply much sooner than he thought. "Fox!" he heard Peach's voice shout.

The voice came from his right. He paused abruptly, looking at the source of the sound in disbelief.

"Peach..." he said. "Are you in... the wall...?"

"I phased through it!" she said, her voice sounding desperate as Fox ran over to the red paint. "I don't know what happened! I was just walking and then I fell through this white screen! Fox, I'm scared!"

"Peach, it's gonna be all right," Fox tried to reassure the princess. "I'm gonna find a way to get you out of here, you're going to have your match, and you'll have the chance to fight for your--"

"That's not why I'm scared!" cried the princess. "I'm scared because there's a dead body in here! And it's not anybody that's been killed in the tournament!"

At this, Fox's fur stood on end, his ears and tail both erect as he heard this.

"Peach, did you just say... it's not anybody that's been killed?" he asked slowly.

"Damn it, Fox, I'm telling you the truth!" screeched the princess loudly. "His skin looks like a brown paper bag!"

"Decomposition..." muttered the vulpine under his breath as his fingers rapped against the wall he was screaming into.

Pondering on this for a second, and making a mental note to see if anybody was acting suspiciously, he looked into the wall in which Peach was trapped. Nodding and taking a gulp, the fox looked into the wall intently.

"Peach," he said. "I'm gonna try to get you out of there, all right? Just sit tight and I'll get some help."

"Okay, Fox, just..." Peach began, but then she paused mid-sentence as footsteps were heard on the other side. "Oh my God..." The princess was hyperventhilating at this point, and the clatter of heels was heard. "Oh my God... It's him..."

"Peach, if you can still move right now, _RUN!_" cried Fox. "And don't let him catch you!"

The princess did not hesitate to do so. The clatter of heels was heard, and then he heard the sound retreating from the wall. At some point, he heard the heels clatter a little irregularly, and then silence. Fox was not sure what to make of this, and so he leaned his ears against the doorway. He wasn't able to make out any signs of a struggle, and his heart beat with a strange kind of adrenaline rush that he had never felt, even in the cockpit.

The fox thought he could hear the clatter of the murderer's... boots, apparently... as he chased Peach. They came back and forth into the foreground, and Fox assumed that Peach was still running away. He sighed in relief, but he knew the murderer could catch up to her at any point, and so he tried to knock on the wall on various spots to see if he could work his way in.

It was as he knocked against the wall that suddenly it lost its solidity. Leaning forward, he fell into the red screen, landing face first on the ground with his feet still in the space where the wall was. Realizing this to be an opportunity to get the princess out, he lifted his head with his eyes closed.

"Peach, if you can hear me, run towards the sound of my voice!" he cried.

After a few seconds, the vulpine heard the sound of footsteps running towards him. No sooner had he opened his eyes than he saw the princess tackle him out of the room, the murderer hot on her trail as they both careened out of the room and back into the corridor at a ridiculously fast speed. As soon as the two of them had collided against the far wall, they both looked back. An all-mighty thud sounded as what Fox surmised to be the murderer ran face-first into the wall. A curse was launched at the two of them, and then suddenly, the only sound that could be heard was the panting of Peach as she and Fox both sat against the wall in shock over what had just happened.

* * *

"So you got trapped in the wall?"

"Oh, it was horrible... It was absolutely horrible..."

"Well, we're just glad you're all right."

The smashers had crowded into the match lounge again, Peach sitting on a table and recounting everything that had happened to her. Marth and Isolde were the first to find Fox and Peach in a heap against the wall of the first floor corridor, and upon helping to bring the two back to their senses, Marth and Isolde had found Albrecht running around trying to find the princess. He had promptly called everybody back to the meeting room, and Fox looked around the room to see that all the smashers were in the room.

Albrecht nodded from where he stood. "It seems we'll have to postpone this match then," he said. "I'll delay it for two hours, and we'll reconvene at the room. I trust you'll be on time this time, Peach?"

"If I'm not, then don't wait to start looking for me," she said plainly. "It wasn't my fault I was late..."

Everybody in the room nodded. "Right," he said. "We'll reconvene in the teleport room in two hours, then."

The group nodded and dispersed shortly afterwards. Peach had come up right behind Fox, following the vulpine as he walked down the corridor. The two of them said nothing as Mario stayed in the match lounge, talking with Popo briefly. Marth and Isolde went their own separate way.

When Fox and Peach had gotten to the second floor corridor, the fox turned to Peach.

"Are you okay now?" he asked.

"I still can't believe I saw that dead body in there..." she said. "Why'd you tell me not to tell them about it?"

"The murderer already knows you know too much," he said. "If you try to tell, he'll try to kill you, regardless of whether someone's with you or not. And also, he'll erase my memory, and all this will be for naught."

The vulpine then stood at the door to his room, standing in the door way briefly after he had opened the door. Peach nodded before wordlessly walking in there. Fox stepped in the room after her, closing the door behind him and locking it. Peach looked at Fox a little warily, but remembering Bowser's oath she stood there and took it in stride. Fox simply sat on the bed and patted a space next to him.

"Here," he said. "Take a seat."

The princess sighed and sat next to the fox.

"What's the point of this?" she asked.

"I don't think the murderer would think to check in my room for you," replied Fox. "So we can talk for two hours about what you saw. I didn't see the body, so do you know who it belonged to?"

Peach looked down at the ground, holding a hand to her heart as she thought. "I don't know," she said. "But... his clothes... They looked really familiar."

Fox held a finger up. "Hold that thought," he said, leaning over to the bed-side table. He grabbed his radio from where it sat on the night-table and held it in his hands.

"Peach, you have to promise me that whatever happens in this room, stays in this room, okay?" he asked.

"Why?" she asked. "They'd really want to know something."

Fox shook his head. "I'll explain it later," he said. "Just know that if we do tell someone, we might unwittingly tell the murderer. And we can't say anything about it until we know for sure who the murderer is, or what we have to do to make sure everybody that's left survives. Promise me you won't tell a soul, Peach."

The princess digested what Fox had told her, and realizing the gravity of the situation, she nodded apprehensively.

"Okay," she said, nodding. "I promise."

"Good," he said. "Remember, what we say here is confidential until we know who is behind all this."

With this, Fox pressed a button on the radio. "Hey, you guys there?"

A brief silence came on, and then static from the other side.

"_Yeah, we copy_," replied the voice of Bowser Jr. from the other end.

At this, Peach gasped, looking at the vulpine as he pressed the button. "Bowser Jr.?" she asked. "What's he doing here?"

"_Someone we can trust?_" asked the voice of Soren.

"She almost got killed by the murderer a few minutes ago," replied Fox. "She was late to her match, so the murderer decided to try to kill her..."

A mirthless chuckle was heard on the other end. "_I figured he'd do something like that_," said the voice of Wolf. "_Fucking ruthless murderer..._"

"Wait... so... who are you guys?" asked the princess softly.

"_We're the ones who might have answers,_" said Soren's voice from the radio. "_And we're here to help you..._"

Peach nodded, thinking about this briefly as she clutched her dress. "Okay," she said. "I'll tell you what happened..."

* * *

Two hours later, Mario and Peach convened in the teleport room, the two of them looking at each other. The rest of the smashers were already in the match lounge, Roy poised to find either one of the competitors once one of them had lost. The two of them nodded, Mario looking at Peach. Neither of them said anything to each other, the silence saying everything that needed to be said.

The male smasher held his hand out to the one he had always protected, nodding at her. Hesitantly, the woman took Mario's hand and shook it softly.

"May the best fighter win," said the plumber.

Peach said nothing, keeping silent as she walked to the teleporter. Mario raised an eyebrow, looking at the woman. Mario could have sworn she had gulped nervously.

Tilting his head to the side, he could have sworn something was not quite right with the princess. But he kept it to himself, walking to his own teleport pad silently. The contraption whirred to life noiselessly, and then the two competitors were in the arena, fighting for their lives.

* * *

In the match lounge, the smashers and Sergio sat there watching Peach and Mario trading blows. Something that everybody seemed to notice was that Peach was holding back on all of her attacks. Marth looked at the match, not amused in the slightest.

"Is it me, or is she acting like she doesn't know how to use her moveset?" asked Marth.

"That's kind of wierd," said the caretaker as he crossed his arms in front of him. "I could have sworn Peach was one of the more confident competitors."

Popo shrugged. "Maybe she just wants Mario to live..." he suggested.

"I suppose," said Sergio. "The human heart is a little wierd like that..."

The group simply shrugged, Fox staying silent as he watched the match go on.

Suddenly, however, a wave of static overtook the TV. Everybody jumped at this, surprised at what they were seeing. The picture went back into focus ever so briefly, but then it only rescinded into a detached grey static. Once the static had taken over, only the sound of static was heard. The room was tense as they sat there, all of them looking up at the TV screen as they all wondered. Marth sent a fist flying onto the table, a frustrated expression having taken over his system.

"What the fuck?" he cried.

"Marth!" exclaimed Sergio, surprise showing in his voice.

"Where the fuck is this murderer?" asked Marth loudly. "Why the fuck is he toying with us like this?"

"Wait," said Popo, putting a hand on Marth's leg as he spoke. "I don't think the murderer would have any reason to do something like this."

"He's figured out what we're trying to do!" cried Marth suddenly. "And he doesn't want us to see who wins the match so that we can save them!"

Fox shook his head. "Damn it," he said. "I'm going to go see if Roy's down there. We need to tell him to get his move on."

"Why can't we use the radio?" asked Popo.

"If the TV signal is jammed, the radios are likely jammed too," replied the vulpine. "Trust me, I know how signals work, I would know something like that.

With this, the vulpine bounded out of the room, rushing for the basement. The door closed behind him, leaving everybody to glance at each other. Marth shook his head.

"Come on," he said, gesturing towards Sergio and Popo. "We're useless standing around here."

With this, the three of them left the room, following the vulpine into the basement. When they caught up with him, he was just running down the stairs. Marth, Popo, and Sergio fell into step behind the fox, the four of them running into the basement.

"Roy? Roy?" cried out Fox as they rushed towards the infamous wall that Isolde had discovered.

But the lord of Pherae was nowhere to be found then. Looking around nervously, there was no trace of the lord.

"Shit!" cried Marth. "Everybody! Check the basement!"

The entire group ran around the basement, checking every nook and cranny of the floor in search of the lord. Popo and Marth even entered some of the white screens that led into the basement, but there was nothing that could be seen with the lord. A conclusion seemed to hit the fox as he looked, however, and he saw the wall Isolde had seen.

"Damn it, the wall!" cried Fox.

The vulpine rushed at the wall, and was greatly surprised to find that he could pass through it. Everybody that was there at the time saw this, and then they all ran towards that wall as well. The four of them then ran down a corridor similar to that which they ran down when Pichu and Samus had been killed, the four of them running as fast as they could.

And then, they came to a door.

"There it is!" cried the vulpine. "There's the room!"

And then, Fox rushed at the door, working it open quickly. The group then opened the door, looking at the room quietly.

Roy was kneeling by a body, trying to get a pulse on it. That somebody wore a pink dress with blonde hair, and as soon as they saw this everybody knew that they were too late. Roy turned to the group, shaking his head sadly.

"We're too late," he said sadly. "Peach is dead."

With this, all of the people left in the mansion bowed their heads somberly. The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom was dead. And there was not much they could do about it, either.

* * *

Some time later, Albrecht had gathered the remaining smashers around in the match lounge. Mario was heartbroken upon the news that Peach had died, and so he had taken his hat off and now held it in front of his chest, staring at the ground in sadness. The other smashers were quite somber as well. The room was silent, and Albrecht shook his head.

"So that's it," said Popo. "All the girls are dead..."

"Unfortunately," said Albrecht. "Every woman has now passed away... You five are all that remains of the smash brothers. And unfortunately, you're all male."

"This sucks," said Mario. "Nobody deserved this..."

Heads nodded in agreement as the group looked around the small table in the match lounge. There was nothing more that was said for a few minutes. Nothing more needed to be said, after all. The last female smasher had died, and there was nothing that could be done about it. The group was silent, thinking about all of the women in the tournament and how strong they had been in the face of certain doom.

Finally, Albrecht coughed. "There is nothing to say about that," he said. "Which leaves me to ask one last thing."

"Oh?" asked Roy. "What might that be?"

Albrecht cleared his throat then, his face forming into a frown.

"Have any of you seen Isolde?"


	24. Chapter 23

Okay, so let's revisit the situation. Peach is dead, Isolde has gone missing, and the remaining smashers are male... Hm...

I dunno about you, but there's something wrong with this set-up. Let's go see what it is, shall we?

* * *

Chapter 23

Marth was busy punching a pillow in his room.

Isolde had gone missing. Marth had checked every part of the mansion that he could access, searching for Isolde and having no luck at all in doing so. Communications were also jammed, meaning that the smashers could not keep in touch to tell Marth that they had found Isolde. When they had gone searching for her for an hour, however, it was clear that they were going to have no luck finding her.

As well, Marth was super annoyed by all of the accusations everybody had thrown at the German girl after she had disappeared. Mario had shouted that Isolde had to have been the murderer, and he insisted it before Fox pointed out that Isolde was not at the mansion for the first couple of days. Mario, and eventually Roy, supported the theory that Isolde had to have been the one killing everybody despite this evidence. The vulpine had gotten Popo on Marth's side, but as far as things were concerned the prince was angry that such an idea had even sprung up in the first place.

He was even angrier at Isolde, however, for not appearing at least to Marth and telling him that she was going to disappear. The truth was that despite all the fun poked at him over his liking for Isolde, Marth really did care about her. If nobody else had survived the tournament, Marth would have wanted her to survive most of all. But now that she had disappeared, he was not sure what would happen next.

This made the prince of Altea undeniably angry.

And so, he continued to punch his pillow to let out his frustration at the situation with Isolde.

* * *

"So how did Peach die?"

"She was choked to death. It was very slow..."

"And there was nothing you could've done?"

"Unfortunately, no... I don't exactly remember what happened, but I think there was yet another machine rigged to kill her..."

Mario nodded at this. Roy had gone to the plumber's room to talk to him about Peach's death. The plumber had taken it surprisingly well, considering that he had led to the death of the person he had always rescued. However, he still took it hard, and he had spent most of the day in his room in silence. He had let anybody who wanted to talk to him in, though, and so Roy had sat down with him. They were both on the bed, Mario with his shoes off and Roy with his feet resting squarely on the floor.

The plumber presently nodded, looking at Roy sadly. "How much time did this murderer have to compile everything?"

"I don't know," replied Roy. "All we know is that he did..."

Mario gazed at the roof absently. "He reminds me of that guy from the _Saw_ movies..."

The plumber had continued speaking. However, Roy lost track of what he was saying, as a very strange image came across the lord's mind. He flashed into a dark place, not able to see much. A gunshot suddenly went off, however, and then the sight of blood and singed brains were visible on a far wall in the dark place.

After this, he seemed to flash back into reality as Mario looked him in the eyes. He had stopped talking briefly, looking down at the lord in a mixture of confusion and concern for the fellow smasher.

"Hey, Roy, are you okay?" he asked.

Blinking uncertainly, Roy shrugged his illusion off.

"I'm fine," I said. "I just got lost in thought is all..."

The plumber nodded, something in his eyes seeming a little suspicious.

"Okay," he said. "It's just... how does a guy get all of this stuff together? You know? You'd think he would need an assistant... And yet there's been no indication that that's the case..."

Roy shrugged. "Whoever is killing us has magic on his side," replied the prince of Pherae. "I wouldn't be surprised if he used that instead of having an assistant..."

"I don't know," said Mario. "All this is really complex... And what's worse is that the tournament is almost over..."

Roy glanced down nervously. "That's right," replied the prince. "It is almost over, isn't it?"

"Only three matches left," said the plumber nervously. "And... since you and Fox are the only people left to fight in this round..."

The lord of Pherae nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "I'm going up against Fox soon..."

The plumber shook his head, pulling his knees up against his chest. "This is all fucked up..." Mario spat. "This is all super fucked up."

"Well, look at it this way," replied Roy. "From the way the brackets were set up due to Jigglypuff's departure, I think you get to wait around for a full match before the final."

Mario rose an eyebrow at this. "So Albrecht showed you the brackets?"

Roy nodded, crossing his arms in front of him. "He did," replied the lord. "He said he also showed them to Bowser before he died, but now it's a little late to find out if he did..."

"I see..." Mario stood up, putting his shoes on as he jumped on the ground. "I'm going to the match lounge. Today is the match between you and Fox, right?"

"Right," replied Roy, standing up as well. "Let's go hang out over there."

And the two of them left the plumber's room, heading to the match lounge slowly.

* * *

Fox and Marth faced each other in the teleport room, the vulpine looking to the prince of Altea. The two of them were waiting for Roy to arrive so they could continue the tournament. Marth had seemed worried all morning, and Fox was sure it had something to do with Isolde. He had grown very close to Albrecht's daughter in the time he had known her, so the vulpine understood that Marth might need some time to think.

"Hey, are you all right about Isolde?" he asked.

The prince shook his head. "No," he replied. "I'm worried about her. I'm very worried about her..."

Fox nodded. "Is it because of what Mario said?"

"Partly," replied Marth, crossing his arms in front of him. "I just don't think Isolde is the murderer. She's too caring an individual to kill people."

"That she is," replied Fox, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"She also doesn't look like the kind to kill," the prince added. "She's the sweetest person I've ever met. People like her just don't kill for amusement. It's improbable if they decide to do so, honestly..."

The vulpine looked over to Marth, crossing his own arms in front of him. "You have strong feelings for her, didn't you?"

"Very," replied the princess. "She really is a sweet girl, Isolde... I kind of fell in love with her for that. Isolde can be a little naïve, but otherwise she is incredibly charming and very sweet. I only wish she wasn't in probable danger right now..."

Fox nodded, a pang of regret having gotten into him. "I see," he said.

There was a brief silence between the two of them as they stood in the room. All was eerily silent as Marth and Fox contemplated on this. Neither really looked at the other as they thought about how Isolde might be doing. The German girl really did have something of an impact on the smashers, always acting as some kind of moral support from someone that wasn't fighting. This was something that they had greatly needed, and Fox had been ever thankful that Isolde had shown up when she had. To think that the girl had disappeared quite suddenly was very disturbing, but it was disturbing more for Marth, who had to deal with the accusations levelled upon Isolde in her absence.

Finally, Fox looked over to Marth. "Marth?"

The prince looked to the vulpine that Roy would fight in a few minutes. "Yes, Fox?" he asked.

"I believe you," he said. "I don't think Isolde could have murdered anyone..."

Marth smiled softly. "I had already gathered that, but it's nice to have the reassurance," he said.

Fox nodded, giving Marth a thumbs up as Roy finally entered. The Altean swordsman nodded to Roy, and then he turned to the two of them.

"May the best fighter win," said the Altean prince.

Fox nodded, the prince exiting the room. Roy turned to Fox, and the two of them stepped onto the teleport pads.

"So, let's do this right, shall we?" asked Roy.

Fox nodded, seeming quite confident in himself. He then was teleported to the match, as was Roy.

* * *

Mario looked to Albrecht, the plumber shrugging. The two of them stood in the hallway

"So you want me to help you find Isolde?" asked Mario.

"Yes," he replied. "I just hope she's all right..."

"Don't worry, Albrecht," said Mario. "I'm sure we'll find her. And hopefully we'll bring her to justice, too!"

"I tell you, Isolde is innocent," replied the German. "My daughter would not willingly do such a thing."

The plumber shrugged. "Yeah, but her disappearing now of all times..." he said. "Doesn't that alarm you?"

"It does," replied Albrecht, straightening the collar of his jacket. "But not in the same way it alarms you."

Mario shook his head, crossing his arms in front of him. "I just can't help but feel that she's responsible for Peach's death somehow," he said. "Call me paranoid, but there's something not really right here..."

Albrecht raised an eyebrow as he faced a different direction. "I'm sure it's nothing," replied the German. "Now we should get going."

Mario nodded. "We're splitting up?"

"We're splitting up," replied Albrecht. "Now let's find her."

With this, the two of them split up, going separate ways down the corridor in search of Albrecht's daughter.

* * *

Marth had been asked to wait in the basement with Popo. Popo had been left under Marth's supervision as Mario and Albrecht were working at finding Isolde. The Ice Climber looked in the small room in slight trepidation, afraid of what could possibly jump out at him as he scooted closer to the prince. They had been waiting there for a few minutes, and Popo was beginning to get both frightened and impatient

"How do we know when the match ends?" asked the boy.

The prince nodded. "We'll know as soon as we can pass a had through this wall..." he said. "I hope Mario and Albrecht can find Isolde."

"So do I," said Popo. "She's really nice, you know. I don't think she could kill people."

"Neither do I, Popo," replied the prince. "Neither do I."

As they talked, the wall suddenly seemed to give way, as Marth's hand passed through it almost without ceremony. Seeing this, the prince's eyes widened considerably.

"Okay, let's go!" he shouted.

Without hesitating, the two of them ran through the wall, finding themselves running down a corridor as quickly as he could. Popo trailed along, his hammer at the ready in case he saw something. Their run down the hallway went without event for quite some time, the two of them wondering why the hallway was so long this time.

As they moved along, however, Marth though he saw something on a divergent path. For a split second, Marth thought he saw the end of a furry tail disappearing into a passage, the wall cutting off his view of it. Pausing where he was, the prince blinked. Popo bumped into his leg unceremoniously, falling to the ground as he did.

"What was that?" asked the prince of Altea.

Popo blinked. "What was what?" he asked.

"I thought I saw something running along," said the prince.

The Ice Climber looked down the hallway that Marth was peering down. The two of them stood there, awaiting nothing but silence.

"Maybe it was nothing," replied the Ice Climber, tugging on Marth's leg. "Come on. Let's go."

The prince stood still, however, not certain that everything was all right.

"Come on!" cried Popo, now tugging on his cape as he tried to get the prince to move. "Someone's gonna die if you stand here!"

The prince snapped out of his stupor and followed the young boy down the rest of the corridor. The two of them then ran as quickly as they could.

They approached a door at the end of the hallway, the two of them sighing softly.

"Finally!" said Popo. "Come on!"

The two of them ran as quickly as they could to the door, Marth grabbing the handle. They were stopped when a splash was heard, however. Both of them froze in place, and then looked down to see that a puddle of blood was beginning to form underneath them.

"Oh shit..." muttered Marth.

He twisted the knob, only to find that it was locked.

"Oh, damn it, of all the doors to be locked, it had to be this one!" cried the prince of Altea as he twisted the knob relentlessly.

"Let me," said Popo, raising his hammer.

Taking the hint, the prince stepped to the side, giving Popo a clear shot at the door. With this, the Ice Climber slammed the hammer against the door. A loud, metallic boom sounded out at first, with nothing truly visible having happened. The Ice Climber had to hit the door at least four more times before it noticeable began to dent. Popo was determined to go in despite the fact that he already knew that either Fox or Roy were already dead before they had even gotten in. Thus, he bashed the door a couple more times as hard as he could.

And with one final all-mighty blow, the door fell down to a harshly lit room.

The scene they got was almost a complete departure from the scene that they had expected. All of the elements were in place for the murder; a trap had been set up on the far wall, with a body strapped to it that was lacking a head. A pool of blood had formed on the cold steel floor, bright crimson shining painfully in the light.

However, the one element that seemed most out of place there was the body. The body belonged neither to Fox, nor to Roy. Rather, it had on a now-bloodstained white dress that shocked Popo and Marth.

And sure enough, in the center of the pool of blood that had formed was the head of the last female left standing in the tournament.

"Isolde!"

The prince ran straight into the pool of blood, bright red splashing up as he knelt at Isolde's head. Slowly, he brought his hands down as they shook almost uncontrollably. Slowly, they cupped Isolde's head, and he looked into the woman's face with a look of abject horror on his face.

"Damn it... no...."

Marth was scarcely able to speak as he beheld the sight of Isolde's head laying there. Slowly, he brought it up against him, not caring that he was smearing himself in her blood.

"Isolde... no...!"

And nothing more was said as Marth simply cried out in anguish. He reeled back, facing the heavens as he cradled Isolde's head in his arms and let out his sorrowful sound. Popo just stood wide-eyed at the doorway, shocked at what he had just seen.


	25. Chapter 24

Yep. Isolde is dead. All that stuff I was setting up about her suspicion? Red herring.

So who it the murderer? Well, lucky for you, the big reveal is very, very close. After three years of myself, BabyG, KTE, and RF having thrown you off with clue after clue after false clue, I am finally going to give you all the answers you've been desperately waiting for. So expect a name to be dropped off at the very end of this chapter, along with an explanation of how everything happened next chapter. But, if you pick up on a few clues that are left, then you might not need the explanation. We shall see.

Anyways, let's get to the chapter now.

* * *

Chapter 24

Mario, Roy, and Albrecht had reconvened in the match lounge, waiting for Marth and Popo to return from their hunt. The trio waited in relative silence, nothing needing to be said between the three of them. They only hoped that Fox and Isolde were both all right, and they would be at ease once they had gotten any form of news.

When Marth and Popo entered the room, all three looked up. Nobody had any time to move before Marth rushed foward and socked Roy square in the eye with a bloody fist.

"Hey!" cried Mario in shock. "Marth, why--?"

"It's all your fucking fault!" screamed the prince of Altea. "It's all your fault she's dead! It's all your fault!"

"She?" Albrecht stood up abruptly, concern etched in his face. "You mean Isolde?"

"She was strapped to this machine!" cried Popo before Marth could reply. "And it cut her head off! It's horrible!"

"N... No... Not... not Isolde..."

Albrecht fell onto the ground on his knees, gripping the edge of the table in shock. "It can't be true," he said. "It can't be."

Marth, with a few tears spilling from his eyes, nodded. "I wish I could tell you otherwise," said the Altean.

And then the prince pointed at the fellow lord. "And it's his fault she's fucking dead!"

"W-what?" asked Roy. "How is it my fault?"

"Because you won the fucking match!" cried Marth, rushing the prince so that Roy was up against the wall and punching the wall behind him. "Because... Because you won... And... and..."

The royal could say no more, for then he choked and lost his composure completely. He then slid onto the ground, his back on the floor. He sobbed freely and moaned in grief as he lay on the floor, Albrecht gripping the table. Roy and Popo both stood there motionless, eyeing the scene of grief with much pity for the prince. Eventually, Roy bent down on his knees and hoisted Marth up against his shoulder. The prince was only too glad to take this, and he sobbed profusely against the red-head's shoulder as the German stood there with his eyes agape in shock.

Mario, however, was absolutely frozen where he stood. Looking down at his own hands, he shook his head. He thought of something horrible, but decided not to talk about it then and there. Part of him wanted it to not be true for the sake of Albrecht and Marth

But he knew that whatever it was, it could not lead to anything good. For there was one last question left in Mario's mind that needed to be answered.

"Wait," pointed out the plumber. "If Isolde was strapped to the machine, then what about Fox? Where is he now?"

Marth turned to the plumber, glaring angrily. "What, you want to make him seem guilty too?"

"He hasn't appeared again since!" cried Mario. "Think about it! Isolde goes missing, and then when Fox is supposed to die she winds up dead, and he's nowhere to be found!"

Marth blinked. "Well, anything could've happened Mario," he said. "We don't know what happened in there..."

Mario crossed his arms in front of him. "Then where is he now?" he asked. "Huh?"

The prince of Altea frowned. "I haven't even begun looking for him yet," replied the prince bitterly. "What makes you think I know where he is right now?"

The plumber frowned at this. "Well, then go find him!" said Mario. "Just you watch! I'll bet he's--"

And without further warning, Mario felt himself get punched in the face. Reeling back, he felt the swelling on his eye as Marth looked at him wildly, fist raised with the other three looking at the plumber and back at the prince.

"Have you no shame?" cried out the royal. "Are you just going to blame everybody that goes missing now that the tournament is in its final stretches?"

"You don't know that they're murdering people!" cried the plumber angrily. "Fox is the only other one to survive his match, and he's gone missing! It has to be him!"

"You don't know it either!" replied the prince. "So you have even less ground to accuse people by!"

"Damn it, Marth, won't you listen to reason?" cried Mario.

"Reason? From a raving madman? I think not!"

"I am not raving! It's the only logical solution there is!"

"Then whatever happened to what Bowser said earlier in this tournament?" cried Marth. Mario did not have a rebuttal for this, so the prince continued to speak. "We were to trust each other with our lives, Mario! And here you are, taking their trust and dashing it into the ground! If nothing else, think about all those that have died and how you're dishonoring them by accusing the second person to survive of committing the murders? Did Popo do anything?"

"That's different!" cried the plumber. "He came back to us!"

"And yet you don't know if he's been sneaking off, killing people!" cried the prince. "This is something similar!"

Growling, Mario turned to Popo, Roy, and Albrecht angrily. "Then what do you guys think?" asked Mario.

There was a tense silence in the room, nobody daring to speak before anybody else. Roy, Popo, and Albrecht glanced at each other nervously before looking to the enraged plumber. Finally, Roy cleared his throat.

"If I may, maybe you are a little out of hand," said the lord.

"Again, accusing people cost us Ganondorf and Pikachu," said Albrecht. "I would not want such an incident to occur to Fox."

"What?" cried Mario, more enraged than ever. "How can you guys--?"

And Popo suddenly screamed out, "You're just mad because Peach is dead!"

Mario was stock still for a second or two, not believing what had just come out of the Ice Climber's mouth. All eyes went to the child as he frowned at Mario, glaring at the plumber as the shock of what he had just said settled in. Marth blinked solitarily, his jaw hanging slack at what he had just heard come out of the Ice Climber's mouth.

After the tense seconds passed, Mario growled, seemingly fuming at what he had just heard.

"You... You little wiseass!"

And then, a few minutes passed of Marth and Roy keeping Mario off of the young Ice Climber as the boy retreated to Albrecht, very frightened by the plumber's sudden outburst. A loud clamor ensued as Mario kicked and screamed, at a couple of points knocking some chairs down in his rampage. He put up a good fight as he resisted against Marth and Roy.

Finally, the three of them exited the room, with only Popo and Albrecht still inside the match lounge as the aftermath of Mario's outburt passed.

* * *

Some time later, Marth sat in his room, his back against the headboard on the bed as he cried his last tears for Isolde. The prince of Altea had taken enough of Mario's insults of Isolde and Fox, and so he had retreated to his room instead of looking for the vulpine combatant. He still needed time to get over the shock of Isolde's death, and so he sat by himself in his room.

He was silently contemplating his time with Isolde when suddenly he heard a knock on his door. Knowing that it was likely someone who wanted to talk to him, the prince nodded.

"Come in," he said.

The door opened, and in strode Popo, looking up to the dejected prince. The Ice Climber walked to the prince of Altea, jumping onto the bed beside him.

"How are you?" asked the boy as soon as he had settled onto the bed next to Marth.

"Not too well," replied the prince. "I can't really feel all that well when someone I cared about immensely winds up dead."

Popo nodded, scooting closer to the prince. The two of them were silent for some time, Popo seeing if the prince had anything to add. After the silence, Popo shifted his feet.

"You know, I felt almost exaclty the same way you do now when Nana died," said the Ice Climber. "I didn't want to leave my room either. Well, I mean, all my injuries didn't help, but even if I could I hadn't wanted to. I just wanted to crawl into a corner and die..." Here, the child shifted slightly. "All I'm saying is this; if you ever need someone to talk to before the next match, don't hesitate to say anything."

Marth nodded silently, looking at the wall on the opposite side of the room. The two of them were silent for a few more seconds before Marth brought his knees to his chest. He hugged them in close, his hands taking a hold of each other.

"I reallyhad come to care for her," he said. "She was... She was a really sweet woman. And she did her best to help us get out of this mess. I don't know. I became really close to her in the end... And to think that she got killed by the murderer when he had no business with her..."

Popo nodded. "I can see why you feel awkward..." said the climber.

The prince nodded, setting his chin on his knees. "In a way, I can't shake off the feeling that maybe Isolde's death was a sacrifice to let Fox live..." he said. "The murderer had no reason to kill her... I know Mario is probably right about what he said, but for some reason my fantasy is so good I want to believe it. It's kind of... beautiful..."

The boy seemed to understand this, remaining silent as he did. A new thought occurred to him, though, and he voiced it almost instantly.

"You think Mario's the killer?" he asked. "That outburst was a little violent..."

Marth shook his head. "As you said, he's probably just angry because Peach is dead," he said at length. "He's in mourning too, even if he doesn't want to admit it. He may have a point, but he's also letting anger filte into his feelings..."

Popo nodded. "Okay," he said. "I'm just gonna stay here..."

"By all means," replied the prince. "I think I could use someone to talk to."

And so the two of them sat on the bed, talking for the rest of the day in the prince's grief.

* * *

The next day, Mario was not at the teleportation pads to wish either combatant good luck. Popo took this as a bad sign almost immediately, but he dared not say anything about it.

"You know..." said Roy. "I worry about Mario..."

"So do I," replied the prince of Altea. "But in the end, I don't think he would've seen you off too well..."

"That's true," replied Roy.

Popo glanced around nervously. "Are you sure this doesn't mean he's the murderer?"

Marth chuckled at the Ice Climber's question. "I'm sure," replied the prince. "Just because he's mad at me over thinking that Fox isn't the murderer doesn't mean he is the murderer. Now be a good boy, all right?"

"All right," said the Ice Climber. Albrecht had volunteered to run into the wall as soon as the match had ended, and so Popo had been left alone since Mario was being highly uncooperative with everybody that was left. Everybody had reached that agreement relatively quickly, and so Popo would stay in the match lounge waiting for Roy to return.

"Okay," said Marth. "May the best fighter win."

"Likewise," replied Roy with a nod.

And with this, the two fighters were teleported into the arena on which they would fight. With this, Popo turned to Albrecht.

"Good luck trying to save on of them," said the boy cheerfully.

"I'll try," replied Albrecht.

With this, the German sped out of the room as quickly as he could. Popo thought he had detected something rather odd about the tone of voice the head of the tournament had used, but brushed it off quickly, moving to the match lounge slowly as he hoped that the loser would make it out of whatever trap the murderer had left for him.

* * *

Swords clashed, the loud sound of metal colliding with metal ringing loudly in the air. Marth and Roy held nothing back, the two of them fighting each other knowing that it would be the last fight either one of them would experience.

They knew nobody was really watching anymore given that the arena's audience was now empty and the whole bit with the communication made it impossible to get the fight out to anybody, especially themselves. However, the thrill of the duel was still strong within Marth, and he fought with everything he had.

It was an opportunity he had been unable to have with Bowser's match. And Roy was proving himself to be a worthy contestant in the tournament, so much so that Marth actually found himself being challenged satisfyingly.

He hoped the lord of Pherae would not be the last opponent he ever faced, however.

The two of them simply kept exchanging blows, sending each other flying out of the arena. Marth had lost track of his stocks somewhere along the line; he was so fixated on winning and making sure that he survived that he lost track of it after a while and stopped caring. It was partly the fear of dying that made Marth duel more impulsively, as he and Roy were both making errors that neither one would normally make. They would be so close, and yet...

The fact that the tournament was almost over was lost to the prince. For some reason, he had trouble registering that it would finally end for Popo and either himself, Roy, or Mario soon enough. It was quite a daunting prospect, and it filled Marth with energy.

Nevertheless, he began to find himself loosing focus, even as Roy rained more blows on him. The prince felt himself get cornered into the edge of the stage ever so slowly, and as the prince of Altea fought back he couldn't help but feel he had already lost the match.

This was confirmed when he was sent flying unceremoniously into the great beyond.

_Ah, well,_ he thought. _At least I go to fight for my life..._

And then, Marth disappeared in a dazzling display of blue light.

* * *

Popo had been sitting in the match lounge doing nothing in particular when Roy came over.

"Oh, Roy!" said the Ice Climber as the lord of Pherae walked in. "You made it out!"

"I hope Albrecht got a good hold of Marth," said the prince. "I know I should probably check it out... but..."

"But what?" asked Popo.

The lord of Pherae shrugged. "I've been thinking, Popo," he said. "About the start of the tournament, and when Sergio approached me..."

The Ice Climber nodded. "Uh-huh," he said. "What about it?"

Roy shook his head. "When I first met him, I would always feel this great pain in my body..." he admitted. "Like all my bones were on fire. And the wierd thing is, it happened every time I saw him!"

At this, Popo frowned. "You mean, seeing him triggered these things?" he asked.

"Not only that," replied the prince. "But he was always talking about my mind and something and how he only needed that and the pain would stop... I think it might have something to do with my tendency to sleepwalk... I don't know what he would've wanted, but I couldn't help but be freaked out by that..."

At this, Popo blinked. "Roy?" he asked.

"Yes, Popo?" asked the prince.

"Why didn't you say anything about this earlier?" he asked.

Roy glanced to the side briefly before remembering that Popo had been a part of the investigation that Bowser had started. "I don't quite catch your meaning," said the prince. "Why do you ask?"

"I dunno," said Popo. "But when I first came here, Nana, Link and I watched this really creepy movie where someone manipulated a somnambulist to kill people as an experiment. I think it was called... something... _The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari_. Maybe... maybe it might tie into this..."

At this, however, the group was interrupted by a loud boom coming from the wall. Turning quickly, Popo and Roy both looked in the direction the sound had come from.

"What the hell?" cried Roy. "There's a white screen here too?"

Before either one could comment, a loud noise was heard and suddenly the form of Mario came flying through the wall. The plumber crashed into the wall by the door, looking winded as he slumped down. Blinking in surprise, Popo and Roy both stood there.

"Mama mia!" cried the plumber, wiping the sweat off of his forehead as Popo suddenly noticed that the plumber was holding something in his hand. "That was close!"

"Wait, what's that in your hand?" asked Roy.

The plumber opened his hand as Popo came closer. The climber took a look at it before picking it up, gazing at it strangely.

"A voodoo doll?" he asked.

"Of Marth?" asked Roy, raising an eyebrow.

And suddenly, more loud booms were heard from the wall. Popo, Roy, and Mario all cringed at each sound that was heard coming from the wall. There seemed to be a climactic confrontation occurring in the next room, and Roy and Popo were unsure of what to make of it. Mario simply stood back up, brushing some dust that had accumulated on his overalls as he looked to the wall that he had flown into the room from.

And then, Marth came running out of the room. He had a few cuts on his arm and a cut on his cheek, but nevertheless he was still alive. This came as a major relief to Roy and Popo, both of whom smiled broadly.

"Marth!" they cried in unison.

They had no time to expound further, though, for then the figure of Fox came running into the room. This was shocking enough, but then another person followed behind him that shocked Roy and Popo out of their minds.

"Peach?" asked Roy.

And indeed, for the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom ran into the room, not dead, but rather still quite alive. She looked at the two dumbfounded people nervously as she entered the room, coming next to Fox by the door as the group of six Smashers stood at the other end of the room.

All was tense for a period of about ten seconds. Peach, Fox, Mario, and Marth all breathed heavily in and out as they looked at the wall where they had come from. Popo and Roy stared at Peach, still in disbelief that she had been alive the entire time. The two of them were silent as well, wondering why everybody was so tense.

And then, a curse was flung at the group from the other side of the wall, and then, silence.

Fox looked to everybody in the room, placing his hands on his hips as he looked around him.

"Is everybody all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," said Peach, brushing some dust off of her pink dress.

Marth nodded. "A few cuts and bruises, but so long as Mario has the doll, I should be fine."

The plumber nodded, facing Fox. "I'm sorry for doubting you there," he said.

"Hey, in your situation, I would've done the same thing," replied the vulpine with a soft smirk on his face. "Let's put it that way."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait,, wait," said Popo. "How did Peach survive?"

"Long story," said Fox, opening the door and checking the corridors. "We need to go to my room. Now. It'll only be a matter of time before he finds us."

"Who?" asked Roy. "The murderer?"

Mario nodded. "Now that his cover is broken, he'll want us all."

"Wait, his cover?" asked Roy, indicating Fox. "You mean you figured it out?"

Fox nodded quickly, looking into the room briefly. "I'll explain more when we get to my room," he said. "For now, it's the only safe place I can think of."

"So we need to get there fast!" said Peach, the remaining five peeking over the doorway and looking down at the vulpine. Upon nodding, the six of them set off quickly.

However, as they moved, something quite startling occurred to the Ice Climber, and suddenly he ran in front of the group, halting their progress as they all stopped walking.

"Wait!" said Popo. "What about Albrecht? He's still in there! We have to--"

"Fuck Albrecht!" spat the vulpine quickly. "If we want to save ourselves, we have to go now!"

"But Fox, he could be in terrible danger!" cried the lord of Pherae.

Marth shook his head. "That's the trouble," replied the prince. "He isn't in danger."

"Why not?" asked Popo. "Does he know some secret kung-fu style that we don't know about?"

Peach frowned. "No," she said.

"But... Is he good at dodging?"

"Not even that," replied Fox, shaking his head. "Now come on, you're--!"

"Then how?" asked Popo, getting increasingly agitated by the second. "How is he safe?"

Fox and Peach both gave each other a quick look, the vulpine seeming to ask Peach's permission to speak. When she nodded, the fox turned to Popo, inhaling and exhaling at length.

"Albrecht will be fine," he said. "He'll be fine, because Albrecht is the murderer."


	26. Chapter 25

Ha. The end of last chapter was not a big-lipped alligator moment; Albrecht really is the murderer.

How does it all come together? Take a look.

* * *

Chapter 25

Fox locked the door behind him, Roy and Popo both looking to the vulpine. Peach and Mario settled on the bed as Marth pulled a chair out from the desk as Fox jumped onto the bed. Popo leapt onto the desk as Roy leaned against the wall.

"Okay," said the vulpine. "We should be safe for now."

"Safe enough to talk about the murderer without being interrupted?" asked Roy.

The starfighter shrugged. "I don't know about interruptions..." he admitted. "But if it's without interruptions, then that'll be great."

"Are you sure Albrecht is the murderer?" asked Popo.

Peach nodded from where she sat. "We have too much evidence proving that," said the princess. "It's honestly overwhelming..."

Roy nodded. "Well, if he's the murderer, then where do we start?"

"No, forget that!" said Popo. "How did Peach survive?"

Fox shook his head. "We'll start with Albrecht," he said. "So, let's begin..."

Marth crossed his arms in front of him. "So, what first lead you to the conclusion that it was Albrecht?"

"To be honest, I had been suspecting Albrecht since Master Hand's death..." replied the fox. "Even when he wasn't a prime suspect something told me in the back of my head that he was responsible. Something about Master Hand's death was always off to me. Pichu goes off and tells Albrecht about Master Hand, and the next thing we know the big hand is dead."

"It was too suspicious not to notice," replied Peach.

Raising an eyebrow, Mario twirled his moustache slighty. "But wasn't he the one who told Master Hand not to trap any more?" he asked. "And even if he had, that would've made his job easier, so why kill him?"

"It's not that simple," said the vulpine. "If Albrecht wanted someone he could trust, he needed someone who would carefully plan everything..."

* * *

_"When asking for help, you want to carefully choose your allies."_

_"Like, a single misstep can be fatal for a murderer's friend."_

_"And that's why he was killed. Not because he disobeyed orders, but because he was not trustworthy enough to keep the murderer's cover for long enough to kill all of the smashers..."_

_"Damn... I was always wondering why the murderer would kill Master Hand."_

_"And now you know. Trust issues are dire like that..."_

* * *

"So you're saying that Albrecht would have asked the hand to help?" asked the prince of Altea.

The vulpine nodded. "Exactly," he said. "He needed an ally he could trust. Which was odd seeing as how he already had an ally..."

Roy looked a little warily at the vulpine. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Was it Sergio? Because he's not in the room with us..."

Fox shook his head. "I'll get to the ally a little later," he said.

The rest of the group nodded as Popo shifted slightly where he sat. "So what about Sergio then?"

Fox nodded. "The puzzle didn't begin to come together for me until super recently," said Fox. "When Bowser died, I was contacted by some people... One of them was a mage..."

Marth raised an eyebrow. "A mage?" asked Marth. "The mage wasn't from Tellius, was he?"

At this, the fox stiffened visibly while looking at Marth, all of his fur standing on end as he looked at the prince. "You're a really good guesser," said Fox. "His name is Soren."

The royal nodded, his arms resting on the back of the chair he was sitting on. "I see..." said the prince. "You and I share a common aquaintance then. But that's a story for another day. It's good we've got such a powerful mage on our side..."

"Powerful?" asked Popo. "But what about Zelda?"

"Zelda was unable to read magic signatures the way this mage could," replied Fox. "He told me all the magic that was being used, and an extra spell."

With this, the vulpine stood up and began pacing the room. He looked to everybody at the same time and nodded.

"Tell me," he said. "When everybody was required to be at a certain place at a certain time, Sergio was always too busy. And when Sergio was walking around, Albrecht was nowhere to be seen. Where does this lead us?"

At this, Roy blinked uncertainly. "Are you suggesting that Albrecht and Sergio are the same person?" asked the lord.

"Impossible!" said Popo. "They look completely different."

Mario then raised a finger. "This murderer has magic on his side, though," replied the plumber.

Fox nodded, indicating the plumber. "Exactly," said the fox. "A spell that could make you hide anywhere...

* * *

_"Think for a second. When I say 'spell that can make one hide anywhere', what are all the possibilities?"_

_"Well, invisibility is a definite one such spell. I could also put a chameleon like spell... But that's about it."_

_"You're not thinking hard enough."_

_"Well, those are all the possiblities that are coming to mind for me..."_

_"All right, let me put it this way. Has anybody seemed to not show up to anywhere? Someone important, mainly? And does that someone make someone else hard to find?"_

_"Well, now that you put it that way, the organizer of our tournament has been hard to find when the caretaker Sergio appears... Wait, you're not suggesting that he's..."_

_"That's precisely what I'm suggesting."_

_"No... No way..."_

* * *

"And trust me, Popo, I thought it was impossible too," said Fox. "I didn't think it was possible for a long time. But think about it. Albrecht and Sergio were never in the same places at the same time. As well, Sergio never appeared all that often. And Albrecht even mentioned at one point that Sergio was an expert in the kind of magic we're dealing with here."

"So since the logical conclusion is that since they're one and the same, Albrecht also has access to that magic and can make the rooms in which we were all supposed to be killed?" asked Marth.

"Indeed," replied the fox. "But I was very skeptical about that too."

The Ice Climber shifted where he sat. "Then what changed your mind?"

"Peach's near-murder," replied the vulpine.

All eyes went to the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom as she adjusted her legs so that she was more comfortable. Looking around her, she sighed softly.

"I saw a dead body in that room," she said. "It looked like it had gone through a long time of decomposition... And it wore one of Albrecht's suits! When I looked over it more, it also looked astoundingly like him."

Roy's head tilted to the side. "You mean...?"

"Exactly," said Fox. "Albrecht was dead the entire tournament. So technically, the murderer is Albrecht, but not Albrecht."

* * *

_"Tell me everything you saw, princess."_

_"Okay. I saw a dead body in there. It looked like it had gone through months of decomposition... I mean, the skin looked like a brown paper bag! It also wore a brown pinstripe suit... Like the kind Albrecht wears. I also thought I saw brown hair on his head... And a moustache..."_

_"Exactly as I thought."_

_"But I'm confused. I saw what I think is Albrecht's dead body sitting in that room, and when I saw Albrecht later... Is the Albrecht I saw breathing an impostor?"_

_"Most probably. Think about something else..."_

_"Like what?"_

_"Think for a second."_

* * *

"Then Sergio...?" asked the Pheraen, eyes widening in shock.

Fox nodded. "Yes," he said. "Sergio is the true murderer of the Smash brothers. And he was masquerading around as Albrecht to put us in a position that we could never leave the mansion from."

Roy began shivering where he sat, his eyes wide as he crossed his arms in front of him. Marth frowned. "Princess, why didn't you say anything about this earlier?"

"Fox asked me not to tell," said Peach. "According to him, if I said anything, the entire mansion would be destroyed..."

"How the hell is that possible?" asked Marth, getting increasingly agitated.

Fox crossed his arms. "We were up all of last night running around the mansion," he said. "We were busy defusing bombs... We were defusing ten bombs, to be exact."

* * *

_"Okay, so let me know why I can't tell anyone again?"_

_"I detected some energy to make smaller objects invisible. Upon trying to identify the objects themselves, I found I was unable to..."_

_"And so I came in. Fox, the mansion is rigged with ten bombs placed in strategic places throughout the mansion. Whoever this murderer is has cast an invisibility spell on all of them so that you can't see them and know that they're there. If you find out who the murderer is and tell everyone in the mansion, then those bombs will go off, and everyone inside will most likely die-- including the murderer himself."_

_"So you mean if I tell..."_

_"You get blown to smithereens. Or you get crushed under a lot of rubble. Either way, your chances of survival are very slim if you tell someone. And that applies to every other person in the mansion."_

_"They're... I'm no expert at diffusing bombs..."_

_"Nah. From what Soren described them to look like, they sound like your average bombs from World War II. When you get an opportunity, I'll try to give you a crash course on how to defuse one of those bombs."_

_"Okay... So there's that to contend with."_

* * *

Marth nodded grimly. "So that's why you didn't come back to us when you survived."

"I had already gathered all the clues I needed by that point," replied the vulpine as he paused in his pacing. "Peach and I had also snuck into Albrecht's office for clues, so we had that. We'll touch on that later. I just needed to make sure the bombs were defused first so that he couldn't activate them."

"I hope he doesn't know how to reactivate them..." said Mario.

Fox shook his head. "Reactivating a bomb isn't that easy, especially when it involves cutting wires," he pointed out.

"I still don't get something, though," said Popo. "How did Peach survive, and how did Isolde wind up dead in Fox's place?"

"Complicated story," said Peach instantly. "Fox and I were talking to Soren when we heard a knock on the door. We open it, and there's Isolde... She had heard everything we had been talking about in relation to the murder... and she wanted to help."

Marth gripped the chair, fearing the worst. "That... that didn't entail... what I think it does... did it?"

"Yes," said Peach. "Isolde and I switched places for my match."

At this, Marth's eyes widened. "You mean..." he said. "Isolde was the one who was strangled? And she left me of her own choice?"

"It was the only way we could save Peach's life without the murderer catching on that she was still alive," said Fox. "Peach knew too much, and the murderer knew this. So he would have rigged the machine so that Peach would die regardless of whether she won or lost. And besides, Isolde volunteered herself to replace Peach..."

With this, the vulpine took a note out of his breast pocket and handed it to the prince.

"Isolde requested that I give you this note once I was able to appear again," said the vulpine. "Here."

* * *

_"You mean that regardless of whether Peach wins or loses, she's going to be the one who ends up in the room?"_

_"Exactly. She already knows too much, and the murderer knows this. And now he won't hesitate to kill her. So we have to give the illusion that she's dead so that she can live..."_

_"... I'll take her place in the match."_

_"What? Isolde? Are you crazy?"_

_"Isolde! I will not hear of it!"_

_"It's the only way we can save Peach. I have some blue contact lenses in my room that I can use, and Peach can always style my hair to look like hers. All that's left to do then is replicate her make-up, wear her dress, and put anything adhering to her moveset on me and we can pull it off successfully. It's the only way."_

_"But what about Marth? He cares for you a lot, Isolde! Do you know what he'll say when he finds out?"_

_"He could be really mad! Think about him, Isolde!"_

_"Do you have a pen and paper? I can write a note to him..."_

_"You really won't stand down from that, will you, Isolde?"_

_"I promised I would help you however I could. And if it means I have to die, so be it."_

_"Very well then... Here. Write your note."_

* * *

"Dear Marth..." began the prince as he read the note out loud. "I think I should make a few things clear. First of all, Fox did not lie to you when he told you that I volunteered myself to die. I promised I would help the smashers, and if my death will help Peach and Fox survive, then so be it. Second, I think I should make my feelings clear. I love you, Marth. But sometimes, love doesn't allow you to stay together. And since I love you so, I wouldn't be able to live with the knowledge that I had the opportunity to save other peoples' lives but couldn't. Especially yours. So I sacrificed myself so that you could live on. Don't dwell on my death, my prince. I died so that you could have a chance at life. Ich liebe dich immer, Isolde..."

The Altean sniffled sofly as he looked at the note. He wiped a single tear from his eye as he looked to Fox, obviously very upset by the contents of this note. After a few seconds, he nodded with a discontented expression on his face.

"I see..." he said grimly. "I... Isolde..."

He simply shook his head as he hugged the note closer to himself. "Thank you..." he said. "I'll use my life accordingly, Isolde_..._"

Fox nodded, biting his lower lip as he fought to keep a tear from falling down his cheek.

"So then it was Isolde that got choked and not Peach?"

"Yes," said Fox. "And then Peach and I spent the night before my match putting Isolde in the trap that would have killed me."

"So that loss of communications...?" asked Mario.

"Yep," said Fox. "That was not the murderer. That was our way of covering our trick."

* * *

_"So how do we disguise the body exchange trick? This thing is being broadcast on live television..."_

_"Simple. We make sure communications are down. It'll catch video footage, but it won't get out to the general public."_

_"Can't Albrecht just check the surveillance footage?"_

_"That's the flaw in his plan. At this point, all of his traps are ready. And so, all he needs to know is when people die. And by the time he checks the footage, it'll already be too late..."_

_"So then in his grief he won't question why Isolde got on there in the first place?"_

_"Exactly..."_

* * *

"I see..." said Marth. "So when 'Albrecht' heard about Isolde's death, he... he wasn't acting?"

"No," replied Peach. "Isolde was also something of a close companion to Sergio. So the emotion he felt at her death was real."

Marth shook his head. "How sad..." he said. "And yet, I don't pity the man at all... It is his fault he killed her, after all..."

"Wait, wait, wait," said Popo, waving his hands out. "Isolde sounds like she knew that Roy was going to live through all of his matches. Sure, Peach is accounted for because she knew too much, but what about knowing about Fox and Marth being the losers? And furthermore, where the hell did you find out where Fox and Marth would be killed?"

"That brings us back to point B," said Fox. "Albrecht... No, Sergio... Sergio's ally."

The vulpine turned to Roy. "Roy," he said. "I believe you may have been used against your will..."

At this, Roy's shivering only increased. "Oh... Oh God..." he said. "I can't..."

"You're not to blame, Roy," said the fox. "Your pain when you were in Sergio's presence was forced upon you."

At this, the Ice Climber looked to Fox. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"What's the quickest way to a person's trust?" asked Fox.

Mario nodded. "You save them from pain," said Mario. "You stand by their side no matter what, and their presence always makes things better..."

"Exactly," said the vulpine. "And this is what I believe happened between Sergio and Roy... Sergio caused Roy pain to be able to get close to him... And once he did..."

"He hypnotized him?" asked Popo.

"Yes," said Fox, nodding slowly. "Sort of like how it's done in _The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari_. Only, it isn't necessarily confined to one's sleep. And once the mind control takes over, then there is nothing you can remember, except in brief flashes..."

* * *

_"Are you sure about this?"_

_"Yes, I did. Ganondorf is dead, meaning it can't be him and that the only candidate left is Roy. I'm not entirely sure of it, though... I mean, it could be someone we don't know is in the mansion... I mean, the thing about Roy is that he's a kind person. Sure he sleepwalks, but he's a pretty nice guy..."_

_"Hm..."_

_"Actually, you know, there's this old movie that came out in the twenties. It's called _The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari._ Something like that."_

_"Sonic, you really don't look like the type to be into those kinds of movies..."_

_"You'd be surprised, Wolf. You'd be surprised. But anyways, I bring that up because that movie is about a mad asylum director who seems to be able to trick a somnambulist into killing people. Maybe something similar is going on here? I know it sounds crazy, but it's an idea."_

_"Sonic, we've been through rooms with traps rigged to kill people that are not on the blueprints for our mansion. We also have a murderer who's living a magic-powered double life while making the mansion inescapable. And on top of that, the rooms in which people are killed can only be entered by running through walls at opportune times, with a master wall and a bunch of corridors that don't seem to belong to this world. And your idea is crazy?"_

_"Good point."_

_"Actually, it has plenty of credence in magic theory. Theoretically, a longer-term spell like the one used for mind control is stronger if the person it is being casted on is more receptive to the caster. And it is strongest when the victim is not aware of what he is doing..."_

_"So it's not entirely crazy... But there's something else..."_

_"And what's that?"_

_"Other things he's done..."_

* * *

"So, why'd you guess that it was Roy?" asked Mario, scratching his head. "You didn't get to tell me that before we had to move it to save Marth..."

Fox looked to the red-head with a soft gaze. "I first guessed it was Roy given the aftermath of Ganondorf's trial," he said. "Roy was the one who branded Ganondorf guilty, remember?"

"Yes, it was a tie..." said Marth, scratching his chin. "And Roy's vote was the one that killed him."

The vulpine nodded. "Either way, it wouldn't have made a difference," said Fox. "The murderer would have gotten to Ganondorf eventually whether or not we had declared him innocent. But this opportunity to lull us into a false sense of security was great. The murders would continue and we wouldn't even know it until it was too late. Actually, if not for Nana having noticed that, we all would have fallen for it..."

"But that's not enough..." said Popo, crossing his arms in front of it. "Is there something else?"

"A few other questions," said Fox. "Peach had reminded me that Roy was nowhere to be found around the time that Falco was murdered. That lends credence to the theory that Roy was the one who fired the crossbow that killed him. As well, there was Bowser's wound..."

The rest of the group nodded. "Because Sergio could have gotten Roy to stop Bowser from killing him..." said Mario grimly.

"Which explains how we knew that Roy would survive all of the final matches," said Peach. "A murderer wouldn't try to kill his most effective killing machine..."

"But that doesn't explain how you knew where the last rooms were," said Popo.

The vulpine nodded, reaching into his pant pockets for a few folded sheets of paper. "Then take a look at these."

Popo jumped off of the desk, hopping onto the bed as Mario and Marth moved closer. They unfolded one sheet of paper and noticed what looked like a drawing of a corridor with many pathways leading to large cubes that resembled rooms. The three of them looked on, and then they slowly unfolded a paper. The paper had a numbered list on it that scrolled down from whatever there was. All eyes went back to the floor plan, suddenly noticing numbers in all of the cubes.

"No way..." said Mario. "He had a list?"

"Why write this list in the first place?" asked Popo.

Marth glanced at the Ice Climber. "With all the magic he is already using?" he asked. "I would imagine there is only so much you can use before you lose your bloody mind..."

"That's exaclty what it is," said Fox. "With this list, Albrect kept track of which rooms were being used when..."

Mario squinted suddenly, pointing at the cubes. "But not all the numbers are there..." said the plumber. "So... so maybe he ran out of rooms to put machines in?"

"And that is another reason why some of us weren't killed in the rooms?" asked Marth.

"Yes," said Fox. "That, and I guess he hadn't built some of the traps yet..."

Marth and Mario both looked to Peach nervously. "There's still the matter of Mewtwo..." said Marth. "But given how much magic this murderer is using I wouldn't be at all surprised if the answer was simple."

Fox nodded. "So, there we go. That's the truth about the murderer..."

"The question is, why would he do such a thing?" asked Mario.

The vulpine shrugged. "I have no idea," he said. "Once we corner Sergio, we'll be free to ask..."

"Now, how do we get out of this mansion?" asked Popo.

"Simple," said Fox. "We have to kill Sergio first. It'll destroy all of the magic that he used."

"So we have to kill him in the corridors of the mansion, right?" asked Mario.

"Yes," said Peach. "We have to stay away from the rooms, though, because our way back to this world will disappear once Sergio dies."

Marth nodded. "About those," he said. "Why did they open in the first place?"

"They always opened whenever Sergio was using magic," he said. "He was using so much magic he had to take away some from the walls for other things. He couldn't risk his disguise or the bombs being seen, and he wanted the illusion there to keep he smashers in fear and the barrier to keep us in. So in the end, the walls were the one that took the blow."

"I see..." said Mario. "This is fucked up..."

Fox chuckled bitterly, looking to the door. "It definitely is..."

Marth turned to Roy, who had not said anything throughout the revelation that he was involved. He had instead only looked forward, gripping the edge of the bed with enough force to crush the wood with his bare hands. The lord was also pale, with his eyes seemingly wild as he stared ahead of himself and seemed to pay attention to nothing else. The prince of Altea blinked, looking to the noble as he turned in his seat.

"Roy, are you all right?" asked the prince.

Roy did not respond in words. Rather, he began to pant heavily as he let go of the edge of the bed. This got everybody's attention, and suddenly all eyes were on the Pheraen lord.

"Roy?" asked Fox.

With this, Roy drew his blade, looking at everybody as tears began to flow down his face.

"Roy!" exclaimed Peach. "Calm down! It's not your fault!"

"It is my god damn fault!" cried Roy, voice choked by tears. "I killed all of you guys! I killed them! And I let Sergio use me! Don't pretend there's nothing wrong with that!"

"You weren't in control!" retorted Fox. "Put the blade down! We're not going to kill you!"

"Maybe that won't make it better!" cried the noble, the hold on his sword faltering slightly. "I have to live with this, damn it! I have to live with the fact that I killed people!"

With this, there was silence. Roy's eyes filled to the brim with tears as he looked at everybody around him. Shaking his head, he turned the sword around in his hand so that the blade faced him.

At once, the other smashers were alarmed. "Roy, wait, no--!" cried Fox as he leapt forward.

But it was already too late, for Roy then plunged the blade of his sword into his own stomach. The lord looked to everybody as the group stopped short, looking at Roy in shock.

"I..." said the lord. "I can't live with the guilt... I just can't..."

And with this, the lord collapsed, his sword still embedded deep within him as he looked up blankly. Wordlessly, however, he worked on pulling his blade out of him.

"Don't do that!" exclaimed Marth. "You'll worsen the bleeding and you'll die!"

"Maybe... I want to die!" said Roy, the tears becoming almost uncontrollable as he pulled the blade out of himself. "Maybe... I..."

The lord grew silent, stopping the pulling of his blade as it was almost out of his body. The blood came gushing out of the lord's wound at a rate that was too fast to stop. The group simply watched as Roy stopped moving all too quickly, his gaze fixed in front of him.

In a matter of moments, the lord had stopped breathing.

Putting a hand on is head, Fox sighed sadly.

"Damn it..." he said. "Roy... Why'd you have to be so stupid...?"

Peach shook her head as she knelt down in front of Roy, minding the pool of blood that had formed around him. She closed his eyes slowly, shaking her head as she stood up. Once she did, everybody's heads bowed in memory of the Pheraen lord. This eventually turned into a memorial for everybody that had died in the mansion up to that point, and they thought about everybody that had died. Noble Zelda, who had helped the investigation. Kind Nana, who had been a sister and a friend. Roy, who had done horrible things against his will and was the only figure truly worthy of pity. Ganondorf, who had been framed and killed when he was innocent the entire time. Bowser, who had tried to save everybody even at a cost to himself. And of course, Albrecht, who had been dead the entire time.

After a few minutes, Marth frowned, his resolve strengthened. He drew his blade then, looking to the others.

"Come on," he said. "It's time we find Sergio and give him his due for all that he's done."

Fox nodded, Popo drawing his hammer as Peach and Mario both took up a fighting stance. The vulpine drew his blaster out, knowing that it was deadly outside of the matches.

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked the vulpine. "Let's find him!"

The group of five exited the vulpine's room slowly, knowing to stay together and to avoid the walls at all costs.

* * *

The group wondered down the blood-red corridors. The quintet was no longer afraid of the walls and how creepy their color scheme really was. All they cared about then was finding Sergio and giving him what he rightfully deserved. They moved so that they were in a circle, their arms linked together so that there were eyes in all directions that he could come from. The five no longer feared Sergio, and so they looked around with frowns on their faces. Fox and Peach had known a way to destroy the voodoo doll representing Marth without killing him, and they had done so.

Now, the only thing left was to kill the one responsible for all of their pain.

And suddenly, footsteps were heard coming from a particular end of the corridor. Despite the fact that they could hear the direction the steps were coming from, nobody dared move from their formation. However, they stopped in the hallway, with Popo turning around in case Sergio had decided to attack from within the circle.

The footsteps only became louder as they approached the group. They kept their fighting stances, waiting for the murderer to come by.

And then, in front of Fox and Marth, Sergio presented himself, not withered as he usually looked but with all of the strength of Albrecht's figure in his body. Peach and Mario turned around when Popo patted them, and for a while, nobody said anything. The air was thick with tension as they stared each other down.

Sergio was the first to speak. "I must give you credit, you stupid vulpine," said Sergio. "I never figured you would find out that I was the one killing you all."

"I had some outside help," replied the vulpine. "Someone outside of the mansion came to me without you knowing about it."

"And ultimately, you found me out by playing my game..." said the caretaker. "It's too bad you destroyed that voodoo doll. I would have tortured Marth until you submitted to me."

Marth growled. "You would be surprised to see how hard I am to kill," he said.

"You've said enough!" said Peach angrily. "Now you've got a lot to explain. Why kill us?"

Sergio shook his head, black hair splaying across his shoulders as he did. "Simple," he said. "I had a ritual I needed to do."

At this, all of the smashers strengthened their fighting stances. "You mean we all died for a pointless Satanic ritual?" asked Fox. "I seriously hope you're kidding!"

Sergio shook his head. "If I was, I would have done different things..."

With this, he began pacing the width of the hallway directly in front of them. "Nobody ever cared about me, you know," he said. "My father raped me, my mother beat me, the others always beat me... But I had strength in his holiness. He was the only comfort I had in this world amidst everything that was thrown at me.

"He offered me a chance at revenge whenever I could," he continued as he stopped walking. "Twenty-four of the most powerful souls I could find had to be sacrificed to him during my miserable existence. He promised me then that he would destroy everybody that ever did anything to me at all..."

"Twenty-four powerful souls..." muttered Fox. "Then that means..."

"I first saw you during the first tournament that was hosted by the Hand brothers," said Sergio. "I remember thinking about how strong you were to fight everybody and try to come out on top. Your tournaments that you held every year were the only other light, not because of escapism, but because I knew where I could harvest souls... Nevertheless, I had not struck then because I would have gotten only half of the souls I needed and I would have wanted to get all twenty-four at the same time. But then, a miracle happened..."

"Crazy Hand going mentally insane..." said Peach. "You made him get locked up in that psychiatric ward, didn't you?"

Sergio shook his head. "Princess, why the assumption?" he asked. "His insanity was not my fault. That was merely a... coincidence... Especially since he was foretelling everything that was about to occur..."

As the smashers glared at the murderer, he continued speaking. "And then Albrecht took his place. When I first found out that the number of competitors would be changed to twenty-six, I was ecstatic. I finally had the chance to collect all of my souls.

"I had studied dark magic with his holiness when I was younger," he continued. "And so, I had all of the power I needed to collect the souls. The only thing left to do was to put the pieces in place. And so... in the dead of night a month before the tournament, I snuck into Albrecht's house and suffocated him to death with a plastic sheet."

A silence took place, the murderer letting the truth settle. It did not daunt the smashers any, however, for their determination was made quite apparent. Even Peach, who he had been expecting would buckle, had her fists out.

"I then took his place," continued Sergio. "I hired myself as his caretaker to make sure my double life wasn't too suspicious to anyone, I organized the brackets with Master Hand, and I made the extra rooms in an alternate dimension. I had underestimated the timing and I was unable to make every trap I wanted to, but I was ready. The withdrawal of Jigglypuff was a problem, but I made the Ice Climbers one fighter so the tournament could continue as planned."

The murderer crossed his arms. "The first seven murders were simple," he taunted. "You were all so confused. I enjoyed your confusion until Ganondorf found Mewtwo's body. I am surprised you figured it out as soon as you did, however. I would have liked to keep my pattern unknown a little longer than that.

"The murders remained simple up to Ganondorf's murder. I had caught on that you were all thinking of Ganondorf as a prime suspect. Thus, approaching his match, I doctored as much evidence against him as I could. That buffoon Bowser bit right into it, and before I knew it you had all killed him. It's too bad Nana pointed out that pattern of mine, otherwise it would have been the first seven murders all over again.

"Killing the rest of you wasn't so difficult. By then all of my death traps were ready, and so I only had to kill them all. Bowser's death was especially fun to watch. That buffoon thought he could survive while paralyzed. I tell you, his match was so fast I almost didn't have any fun with it."

Sergio's expression seemed to change from one of insane glee to one of frustration. "And yet, you had to fucking ruin it!" he cried, pointing a finger at Fox threateningly. "You with the body exchange trick and defusing all of my bombs before I knew what had happened. The final murders would have been beautiful if not for your meddling! And now, my instrument is dead! And I can't make him kill any of you!"

"Well, we can't have that," said Marth. "Why did you choose Roy, of all people?"

Sergio looked over there. "Because Roy had the weakest soul of you all."

He crossed his arms. "Wolf O'Donnell was originally going to be here," said Sergio. "But before that hand made the official announcement, I convinced him to change him with Roy. That way, I would have an accomplice to solidify my alibi on both of my two lives. It would also leave me to have at the other competitors.

"Of course, I had not expected Master Hand's poor cooperation, so I killed him. That is the only reason I spared Popo; Master Hand's soul proved to be strong enough to substitute for that pesky ice climber. If Bowser had taken my gamble, I would have killed Isolde to seal the deal, but the brave buffoon took the chance. But I have you now..."

There was a silence that hung in the air. Fox frowned, looking at Sergio angrily.

"You know, I should feel pity for you," he said. "I really should. But whatever happened to you doesn't change the fact that this is making you worse than they are."

The vulpine aimed his laser gun at Sergio. "You had a tough childhood. So did most of us. I had to deal with my father's death without a mother to look after me. Marth was exiled from his kingdom in his early teens. I don't know much else, but you understand my point well enough.

"And we learned to deal with it," he said. "You didn't!"

"I dealt with it perfectly with his holiness by my side!" replied Sergio. "And now I shall deal with it!"

"Killing people doesn't make you better than them!" replied Fox. "If anything, it makes you worse than they are!"

"Why not?" asked Sergio. "I would get revenge on them all! And I would be even with them! They want to abuse me? Then they shall pay the price slowly and painfully!"

Without saying anything more, Fox aimed his gun and fired. The laser hit Sergio in the foot, blowing it right off. As the madman fell and screamed in pain, Fox shot his other foot off, and then his hands. The starfighter looked to Sergio as he panted, the pain obvious.

"Then leave my regards to your family when you see them in hell!" cried the vulpine!

Marth jumped at Sergio, picking him up by the collar and shoving him against the wall. Before Sergio could react, Marth had plunged his blade into the madman's chest, snarling angrily. Without giving Sergio a chance to do anything, Marth retreated, letting Sergio fall to the floor in pain. Nothing was said at all.

And then, Popo raised his hammer high, and with a fast swing the head of the hammer came down on Sergio's head. The Ice Climber brought the hammer down on Sergio's head a few more times, and the man was dead.

The smashers panted nervously as they looked at Sergio's body. It was still, laying in the ground as its own blood began to pool all around him. Peach wiped the sweat off of her forehead as she looked at the body.

And then, suddenly, the entire room felt extremely hot. Before they could think about what could have caused the sudden spike in heat, black flames began to light up around Sergio's body. A hole opened up in the ground around the body of Sergio, and suddenly hands darted out of it. The hands had an odd discoloring thanks to the ethereal red light that was in the area, made worse by how bloody they all seemed to be. Without warning, Sergio's disfigured head shot up as it screamed in agony. The group watched as the hands seemed to feel around for the madman, his face catching fire as his black robes became singed.

Loud laughter suddenly rang out in the hallway. It was an odd otherworldy laughter consisting of many other voices that rose out, and Sergio's eyes looked up in terror.

"No... No!"

"You have failed, miserable one," shouted this otherworldly voice. "And now, your soul is mine!"

And with this, the hands clasped around Sergio. Without much more delay, the hands pulled the murderer down into the hole. As the hole closed around him, he screamed out loudly, his hand rising up as he was dragged into hell.

When the hole closed, the flames disappeared, and all was silent. The red on the wallpaper suddenly regained its normal coloring, the group looking to each other as the windows around the mansion finally opened, letting the sun into the mansion for the first time since they had gone in.

Peach and Mario looked around, Popo resting his hammer on his shoulder. Marth sheathed his blade as Fox holstered his gun, looking to the others.

"It's over..." said the princess. "It's finally over..."

Overcome with emotion, the princess suddenly leaned back against the wall, hitting it with her back as she sat down on the ground. The rest of the smashers took a moment to think about everything that had happened to them over the past few weeks, all of them suddenly becoming overcome with great feelings.

And suddenly, an ethereal white light filled the hallway, illuminating everything. Everybody that was alive was snapped out of their stupor as they beheld the bright light.

And then, from the floor, the souls of all that had died had begun to rise out of the ground. All of the smashers that had died appeared briefly, looking on as the spirits began to crowd the hallway. The living smashers turned around, looking at all of the souls surrounding them.

At the head of this procession, then, appeared Bowser. He was in front of all of the spirits, with all of the spirits behind him. He smiled to Fox as Peach stood up.

"Bowser...?" asked the vulpine.

"Thank you, Fox," said the koopa. "You've set us all free..."

"Yeah, I think you deserve a better fate than to be sacrifice fodder for the devil," said Mario as he and Peach walked over to the spirit of the koopa king.

The spirit extended his hand out to the vulpine. Surprised at the gesture, Fox moved his hand forward nervously. Upon finding that he could actually hold Bowser's hand, his expression took on one of surprise before he smiled. Gripping the koopa's hand lightly, he shook it.

It was then that Zelda's spirit appeared by Bowser's side, smiling at Peach.

"Peach, you're all right after all!" said the princess of Hyrule.

The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom nodded. "I barely made it out, but I'm all right," she said.

"I hope your afterlife is good..." said Mario

"It might be annoying, what with Ganondorf being all 'I told you so'," replied Bowser, chuckling. "He kept good on his promise, I'll tell you that much."

Fox nodded, looking around the room as Peach and Mario laughed good-naturedly. His eyes set upon Marth as he hugged the spirit of Isolde tightly. The German girl was hugging Marth back, the light from her illuminating the Altean's tears of bittersweet joy. Looking down, he saw Popo and the spirit of Nana in a similar embrace, with the male Ice Climber crying profusely at seeing his sister one last time.

Bowser looked up suddenly, and he crossed his arms.

"We don't have long," said the koopa. "We'll have to go soon."

Fox nodded, crossing his arms in front of him. "Well, we can't stop you," said Fox. "Thank you, Bowser. For everything."

The deceased king smiled, looking at Isolde and Nana. "Come on, we've gotta go."

With this, the two spirits parted from the people they had been in an embrace with, Marth lingering as he held Isolde's hand.

"Thank you, Isolde," said the prince longingly. "Say hello to your father for me when you meet at the gates of heaven..."

"I will," replied the German girl.

"Bye, Nana..." said Popo sadly.

"Bye..." replied the female ice climber.

And then, the spirits ascended slowly, the ethereal light intensifying as they did. Slowly, all of the spirits of the smashers ascended through the ceiling, the light dying out as their forms disappeared.

And finally, all was back to the familiar lighting of the hallway. The five living smashers looked to each other, Marth looking at Fox as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"So, what now?" asked the prince.

Fox nodded. "Well, since there's no head of the tournament to run anything anymore, and since Roy killed himself... I guess that means Mario wins by default..."

Mario shook his head. "Please, I'd rather not think about myself like that," he said.

"Trust me, neither would I," said the vulpine. "With that out of the way, the only thing left to do is to leave this damn mansion forever."

The others nodded. "I can't wait to get out of here," said Peach. "This place has so many bad memories..."

"Then let's go," said Fox. "To the front door!"

With this, the group of five walked down the corridor, elated that their plight was finally over and that there was no murderer attempting to kill them. And so, there was a light spring in their step as they made their way to the front door of the mansion.

* * *

A/N: All right, so there's your explanation, and his defeat. The murderers were Sergio disguised as Albrecht and Roy possessed by Sergio.

No, the fic isn't over yet. I have one epilogue to write out. But I wrote this A/N anyways. Why? So I could explain the clues that were left behind throughout the fic for all that was in this reveal, that's why! So without further ado, let's begin.

--At least one reviewer brought up Roy leaving the hospital bed at the time of Falco's murder, and guessed right there that Roy was the murderer. To him I say, good job you!  
--Those scenes where Roy first encountered Sergio were also there for a reason. Why else would anybody need your mind?  
--If you had noticed Roy's suspicious behavior, another clue was in the jury scene when they all turned to him. And then he proclaimed Ganondorf guilty. Subtle hint, but when you think about it in retrospect it's kind of obvious. Along a similar vein, the death of Pikachu also partly had Roy's hand when the murderer's original idea failed him.  
--Pichu mentioned that the hooded figure had red hair during the trial. Who else besides Ganondorf has red hair?  
--There was a hidden clue when Albrecht smirked during the chapter in which Master Hand was killed. Also consider the fact that RoyalFanatic was originally going to add another line for Albrecht after the smirk which I asked her to remove due to the line being a little too obvious that early in the fic.  
--Remember when "Peach" said nothing before her final match and fought as if she didn't know much about her moveset? That was your clue that something wasn't normal with Peach. I'm surprised nobody picked up on that and tried to go anywhere with it, honestly.  
--Of course, Albrecht and Sergio never being in the same room at the same time doesn't need to be mentioned.  
--The doctored surveillance footage also was a clue, and one person managed to pick up on that... after the reveal. To be fair, though, it was a fairly vague clue, as Bowser did say he had left the tapes out, so it doesn't necessarily incriminate Albrecht/Sergio.  
--"Opera. I like his taste." If you know anything about Europe, you'd know a lot about their heavy classical music tradition. Super subtle clue, but it was there.

And that's about all the clues I can remember right now. You might find others upon looking back, but try not to spoil them in the reviews.

Anyways, I'll see you guys in the epilogue, to come soon!


	27. Epilogue

All right. Now that the revelation has been dropped and the murderer disposed of...

We can finish this sucker! *cue Hallelujah chorus in the background*

So without further ado, I bring you the epilogue of this story!

* * *

Epilogue

When the smashers had opened the front door, they were greeted not with the illusion of the lava pit, but with the sight of the driveway. Fox sighed at this, looking around him.

"Well, it looks like killing the caster did work after all," he said as Peach, Mario, Marth, and Popo stepped out of the mansion for the first time in what felt like years.

Marth nodded grimly. "Indeed it did," he said. "I only wish Bowser had managed to kill Sergio back when he had a chance... This would have ended so much sooner if only Roy hadn't stabbed Bowser..."

Mario looked around. "So, where are your friends?" asked the plumber to Fox.

"I dunno," said the vulpine with a shrug. "According to them, they weren't able to get onto the driveway given that there was a force field around the mansion..."

The group then heard tires screeching on the driveway, the group looking around. And then, in front of the walkway to the door a pick-up truck pulled up to the mansion. Four people, including Bowser Jr., were left on the back. The four of them jumped out of the truck as the car halted.

"Bowser Jr.?" asked Peach. "You got stranded at the nearest town, didn't you?"

The koopa kid nodded. "Unfortunately," he said. "My dad didn't survive did he...?"

The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom shook her head sadly. "He didn't," said Peach. "He was a valiant man, though. Always looking out for us to the end... I hope you become a man that your father would be proud of."

"I'll try," said Bowser Jr. solemnly.

With this, the koopa nodded as the other three in the back of the car came up to the smashers. Immediately, Marth walked over to the two more medieval-looking people.

"Soren!" said the prince. "A pleasure to see you again!"

"Ah, Marth," said the mage. "Likewise, although I wish circumstances were better."

"Prince Marth?" asked the larger man beside him.

"Ah, Ike," said Marth as he nodded to the mercenary. "A pleasure to see you again as well."

"So I guess this leaves the last one left to be Sonic?" asked Mario, crossing his arms in front of him as the blue hedgehog approached.

"Heck yeah!" said the hedgehog jovially. "Nice to finally meet you, Mario!"

The plumber nodded, taking off his hat and tipping it to the hedgehog. "Same here, although I wish things were better..." he said.

Sonic scoffed at this as the doors to the truck opened. "Don't we all?" he asked.

Mario nodded, feeling a little bitter at this.

Fox looked on at the people exiting the truck, seeing someone he didn't know and someone he had ambivalent feelings towards with everything that had happened.

"Wolf?" asked the vulpine.

The rival starfighter walked over to the fox, bowing his head. "Looks like ya made it out alive," he said. "I knew you were made of better stuff than what you showed me when we first made contact in this mansion."

Fox nodded, clasping his hands in front of him. "Thanks," he said. "For helping us out."

"Hey, I can't let sick fucks like that Sergio guy get away with what he's doing, can I?" asked the lupine.

"You kill people regularly," pointed out Fox.

Wolf shrugged. "Kill? Yes," he replied. "Kill in such a sick, twisted way? Hell fucking no."

Fox nodded, seeing the fellow starfighter's point. "That's true," he said.

The small conversations between various members of the group continued for a brief peroid as the group caught up just outside of the mansion. Snake stood by the truck, not really having anybody to talk to.

"Good thing they made it out alive," he said to himself. "We proved that bartender wrong, that's for sure."

* * *

After a few minutes of cordial discussion from all parties involved, the group had piled into the pick-up truck and was now on their way to the nearest town. Fox and Popo had both joined Wolf and Snake in the truck itself, leaving everybody else to sit on the bed of the truck as it rolled by. To be certain, it was quite uncomfortable what with there being seven people on the bed of the truck and having to fit into a small space. But the group managed, and they were facing each other, Peach's hair flying in the wind as the survivors looked to the ones partly responsible for their rescue.

Peach, Mario, and Marth had all related how their rescue had come about. They talked about everything that had happened from the communication cut to when they had gotten out of the mansion. They even talked about the spirits of the deceased smashers that rose up to the heavens.

And when all was talked about, the others on the bed of the truck nodded. Soren straightened his robes slightly as he looked at the group.

"Anybody else would have a tough time believing that," said Soren loud enough to be heard over the wind. "But given all that happened with the murders themselves..."

"Makes me wish we had something that could have just gotten us out of here without too much fuss..." said Peach, looking beyond the truck. "I really do wish we had another way out of there..."

"I wonder why he wanted to get revenge with satanic ritual anyway..." added Sonic, rubbing his chin in thought.

Soren crossed his arms in front of him. "Whatever that reason is, it doesn't truly matter anymore," said the mage. "You stopped him: that's all that really matters..."

"Yep..." said Mario. "I still can't help but think of all those that died, though... It could have never happened if Crazy Hand hadn't gone to the asylum..."

"Well, he was shouting about how every smasher would be killed in the upcoming tournament, right?" asked Ike. "Maybe he isn't crazy after all..."

Peach shook her head. "It's not fair that he was given the Cassandra treatment..."

All the others on the truck bed nodded in agreement. Mario suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and Jigglypuff too!" he added. "Remember she stayed out of this tournament because she wasn't feeling well..."

"Or maybe because she had a feeling something like this would happen..." replied Marth. "I am not sure..."

"Either way, it was clear that they wouldn't have access to their souls," said Ike. "I wonder... What are you going to do now that all this has happened?"

Peach crossed her arms in front of her, smiling. "Well that's easy," she said. "I'm going to work with Bowser Jr. to forge a lasting peace between our kingdoms, of course! And Mario's going to be helping me through that!"

The plumber nodded. He then looked to Marth. "And what about you?" asked the plumber.

Marth nodded, his fingers lightly going over his blade.

"I think it's time I reclaimed my rightful place on the throne," said Marth. "I never reclaimed it before... but now I have no excuse to run and hide anymore."

The others in the group nodded. "You think of taking anybody along?" asked Ike.

"I was thinking of asking Fox to accompany me," said the swordsman. "And you as well, Soren. Possibly even Ike or Wolf if neither mind coming along."

Ike nodded. "Oh, trust me, I'm up for an adventure," he replied. "Especially since Soren is coming along too."

"As am I," added the mage. "I would be more than willing to help, Marth."

The prince nodded, smiling. "Thank you," he said. "I wonder what Fox and Wolf would say..."

"We'll leave that up to them," said Peach. "For now... we're approaching the city!"

And with this, the group nodded, looking around as they saw the buildings of the nearest city rise up ever so slowly in the horizon.

* * *

Much later in the day, the group had rested in the pick-up truck.

Snake, Peach, Mario, Bowser Jr., and Sonic had all already left the group to go back to their respective homes. Sonic had decided to tag along with Mario seeing as how the hedgehog really wanted to get to know the plumber better, and Snake had needed to return for a debriefing meeting with his mercenary unit.

This left Fox, Wolf, Popo, Marth, Ike, and Soren with the pick-up truck. This was parked away from the road for the night, with everybody laying on the bed of the truck. Wolf was looking up at the stars as Fox sat back against the wall of the truck bed. Soren and Ike were both already fast asleep, the mercenary's arm draped over Soren protectively. Popo and Marth were both still awake, looking up at the stars as well.

"You know, it's so hard to believe what just happened..." said Fox, crossing his arms.

"I hear ya," replied Wolf, blinking as he looked at the twinkling lights in the heavens. "It's not every day you see your friends getting murdered..."

"It's so sad..." said Popo. "We didn't deserve this..."

"Nobody does," added Marth. "And yet, here we are, survivors of some madman's satanic rituals..."

Fox shook his head. "I still can't get over Bowser's death most of all..." said the vulpine.

"Most of us can't..." replied Marth, crossing his arms. "It's sad... Zelda... Nana... Falco... Roy... It is horrible what happened..."

Popo nodded. "And yet we managed to survive..." he said. "How are we going to live on like this?"

"I don't know," said Marth. "The only thing we can do is look on to the future, however. Hence, why I will be going to reclaim my homeland."

Fox crossed his arms as he looked to Marth. "Why didn't you do that earlier?" asked the star fighter. "I've always been meaning to ask that..."

The prince nodded. "I've never done it because I never had the courage to," he said. "I only finally mustered up the courage after this. Isolde gave me my life to live. And now, I know what I have to do. And that gives me the courage to return and face my fears."

"Capture, death, hunger, the whole nine yards..." said Fox, nodding. "Just know that Popo and I will be by your side every step of the way."

"I mean, if we weren't, we'd be horrible friends," added the Ice Climber with a hand geture.

Marth nodded. "Fire forges friends," he said. "Maybe some good did come out of his murderous rampage after all..."

Fox nodded, looking up at the sky. "And with a little courage, we can move mountains..." added the star fighter.

Wolf simply looked at the stars, his hand coming over Fox's gently. He nodded, and Fox knew that in the end, everything would work out.

And so, he smiled, gazing up at the night sky as he realized the future that lay ahead of him would go better from there on.

* * *

**Fin.**

* * *

A/N: And after over three years of this, I've brought this to an end! Cue Hallelujah chorus!

Well, I dunno if this will mean a spin-off based on how it changes the events of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (the original FE story, by the way), but still, it's nice to see that this is finally over.

Thank you guys for sticking around. But most of all, I have to thank RF, KTE, and BabyG for being able to do this as long as they could! Thank you so much, guys!

And with this, I officially end La Belle. Good night, and if you have any questions, send a PM my way!

-Herr Wozzeck


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